


when morning comes

by sterydia



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Hale Family, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, F/M, Florist Derek, Past Kate Argent/Derek Hale, Tattoo Artist Allison
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-26
Updated: 2016-08-26
Packaged: 2018-08-11 05:18:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 29,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7878031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sterydia/pseuds/sterydia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Coming back to Beacon Hills was supposed to make things better after Derek's failed marriage to Kate. Finally mending fences with his family and settling back in the only place he ever thought of as home. And things are, for the most part, great. And then there's Allison; Kate's niece who owns the tattoo shop next to his family's florist business. She's nothing like her aunt, and Derek suspects she doesn't even know what her aunt has done to help widen the gap between their two families. But he and Allison are drawn to one another, and he thinks he might have something real with her. Until Kate comes back to Beacon Hills to stir things up again…</p>
            </blockquote>





	when morning comes

**Author's Note:**

> Originally, I started this story for last year's HBB challenge, but I had to drop out. Finally, it's finished! I loved writing Derek/Allison, although sometimes the plot didn't go how I wanted. Still, I hope you enjoy this fic. Many thanks to J for the last minute beta <3 any remaining mistakes are my own.
> 
> See the lovely banner by [cassandrafisher](http://archiveofourown.org/users/cassandrasfisher/pseuds/cassandrasfisher) over [HERE](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/Het_Big_Little_Bang_Challenge_2016/works/7862023)!

It took Laura getting married for Derek to return to Beacon Hills after so long. Her voicemail had been clear; he was to come home, or she was going to get on a plane, hunt him down and kick his ass. There hadn’t been anything to keep him in New York after his divorce, and when Laura called, he took the opportunity that presented itself. Breaking his lease on the apartment he’d once shared with his wife had been costly, but it wasn’t like he couldn’t afford it. He packed what he wanted to keep and shipped it off, before booking a flight to California.

Ten years since he’d gone back to Beacon Hills, but he’d thought it was the right thing to do. After all, he’d thought that marrying Kate Argent would help bring the families together. It’ hadn’t, if nothing it made things worse. No one blamed him, or at least he didn’t think they did, but they had tried to warn him about Kate, and he hadn’t listened.

The flight was long and tiring, and when Derek arrived at the airport, he found Cora waiting for him, slouched down in one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs, a pair of dark sunglasses pulled down over her eyes and using her hoodie as a pillow. Cora was the one he’d talked to the most since the divorce, weekly conversations on Skype that didn’t compare to seeing his sister in the flesh for the first time since she was fourteen years old.

“Are you just going to stand there staring like a creeper,” she sat up, pushing her sunglasses up into her hair. She had dark circles under her eyes, and Derek could swear that she was hung over. “Or are you going to say something?”

“Hey, Cora,” he said, the corner of his mouth turning up in a quick smile.

She narrowed her eyes at him before getting up out of the chair and launching herself into his arms. He hugged her back, her feet almost leaving the ground. When he let her go, she punched him as hard as she could in the chest. It hurt, and he winced, rubbing at the spot where there would probably be a bruise later on.

“You got nine more of those coming your way, big brother. One for each year you stayed away. You’ll never see the rest of them coming,” she warned him, before spinning around and dragging her scuffed Converses all the way to baggage claim.

Derek could only smile after her, pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose and following. He promised himself that he would stop and get her a giant cup of coffee on the way to the house.

They collected this bags and tossed them into the bed an ancient looking Ford pickup that Derek couldn’t believe that Talia let Cora drive, and he might have questioned his safety a little as he climbed into the passenger seat and realized that there wasn’t a seatbelt on that side. When she started the engine, it backfired, and a big cloud of black smoke shot out of the exhaust pipe.

“So, this guy our sister is marrying?” Derek casually curled his hand around the assist handle above the door so it wouldn’t look like he was planning to hold on for dear life while Cora backed out of the parking spot a little too fast. “Jordan?”

“Jackson. And he’s…nice. Well, not nice but he’s nice to Laura, and she loves him. You know how she can be, so this is a big deal,” Cora said.

Derek knew exactly how Laura could be. He was pretty sure all throughout high school she’d had exactly four friends, and she’d always had a bit of a problem letting people into her life after their dad died. She was close with her family, and the inner circle of friends that she had, but that was it. It was probably one of the main reasons she didn’t work at the shop like Cora did. So Derek understood that Laura marrying someone was a big deal.

“As long as Laura likes him then.”

“Laura loves him. He’s good to her,” She paused, chewing on her lip. “He’s nothing like Kate.”

It was such an offhanded comment that Derek couldn’t even be angry. He had no right to be; she was right. Jackson wouldn’t be anything like Kate, wouldn’t tear Laura away from her family like Kate had done to him. He hadn’t counted on Kate betraying him the way that she did or helping create the rift between him and his family. It was what kept him away for so long, the fact that Kate had helped create this crack between them, and after the divorce, Derek had only widened that chasm by not going back to face them.

“And what about you? Anyone I should be threatening?” He asked, wanting to change the subject. Cora glanced over at him, trying not to smile.

“I don’t need a relationship to define me,” she said proudly. Derek reached over and ruffled her hair, and she slapped at him.

“Did I ever tell you you’re my favorite?” He asked, and Cora grinned before returning her attention to the road.

Beacon Hills hadn’t changed one bit in the time that Derek had lived in New York. Just driving into town made him realize that coming home was the right thing to do. He’d always thought that he and Kate could make it work in New York, and really when he left her, he should have packed his things right then. But he’d always had that guilt about what Kate had done, and how some of the blame for that should have been on him.

“We’ve gotta get gas,” Cora announced, swerving into the gas station parking lot up ahead, cutting off a car as she pulled up to a pump behind a sleek black Sedan. She cut the engine and passed him her credit card. “Can you pump? I’m gonna run to the bathroom.”

Derek released his grip on the handle and took the card, swearing to himself he was going to find out who taught her to drive and strangle the life out of them. She hopped out of the truck, running across the parking lot towards the store. Derek got out, walking around the truck to start pumping the gas. He didn’t even make it to the pump before freezing in his tracks.

Gerard Argent was standing at the end of the sedan, his hand loosely gripping the gas pump as he leveled Derek with a venomous look. Derek refused to look away, meeting his gaze and nodding.

“Gerard,” he greeted the man that had once been his father in law and who probably still hated him for what had happened with Kate. Gereard still looked at him as if everything had been Derek’s fault.

“You’re back for Laura’s wedding to the Whittemore boy? I saw their picture in the paper a few days ago,” he said, the politeness in his voice sounding as forced as it could be.

Derek cleared his throat, sliding the card into the machine and turning to open the gas tank. “I’m staying in Beacon Hills, for good.”

He didn’t have to be looking at Gerard to see that the idea of that made him a little angry. When Derek filed for divorce, Kate had run to her father like she was the one  who was the victim in everythin. And really, Derek shouldn’t have been surprised to come home to their apartment and find it empty except for his clothes, but he was. Their wedding picture had been a half burned pile of ashes on the kitchen counter right beside the signed divorce papers. Gerard had been the witness to Kate’s signature. He’d also sent the men who helped clean out the apartment; Derek had been sure of it. But the little note scribbled on the bathroom mirror in red lipstick, that one had been all Kate.

“Oh,” Gerard said flatly.

“Is that a problem?” Derek asked, trying not to clench his teeth.

He just smiled at him, that fake smile that Derek had seen on Kate’s face a time or two. “Not at all, Derek. Not at all.”

“Derek?” Cora was coming across the parking lot, and she looked warily back and forth between him and Gerard.

“Get in the truck, Cora,” Derek instructed, his eyes never leaving Gerard’s face.

She didn’t even argue, yanking open the passenger door and sliding in. Derek didn’t mean to scare her, but he just didn’t want her out there in case Gerard said something he shouldn’t say. Even though she could hear through the half rolled down window fine enough, it was the point. Their dad used to joke that the Hales and the Argents were like the Hatfields and McCoys, just with less bloodshed. Only it wasn’t much of a joke, the hatred between the two families had been going on long before Kate and Derek got together. The marriage just made it worse. Cora had been young when the worst of it was going on, and he didn’t want her involved in anything Gerard might have to say.

“I just hope that for your sake, and for your family’s,” Gerard took a small step closer and Derek clenched his fist around the gas pump handle. “That coming back to Beacon Hills is the wise thing to do.”

That was a threat if Derek had ever heard one, and he opened his mouth to say something when someone cleared their throat. Both he and Gerard turned to see Chris Argent walking towards the pumps, a serious look on his face. Derek couldn’t honestly say he’d ever seen the man smile, but the look was directed at his father, and not Derek.

“Is there a problem here?” he asked as he approached them. Gerard immediately backed up from the step he’d taken, turning to look at his son.

“No problem here, just welcoming Derek back to Beacon Hills. He’s moving home,” he said pointedly.

Chris glanced at Derek, and he nodded. “Good for him. Glad to have you back, Derek.”

He was serious. Derek could tell. Out of the Argents that he knew, Chris was the one who always tried to be the most civil, the peacemaker when situations got out of control. After his wife Victoria died, in the same year that Derek’s father died, he just gave up on trying to keep the war between the families going. Even after Kate, he was still trying to be rational, unlike his father who was currently silently fuming behind him.

“Thanks,” Derek said. Chris nodded again, turning around to watch his father finish filling the gas tank.

Looking through the passenger side window, Derek could see that Cora was watching with wide eyes. He hurried through getting the gas, only filling the tank up halfway. Chris stood between him and Gerard the entire time, and Derek never looked their way again.

=

Allison’s one day off a week was spent doing the same thing; catching up on laundry, doing some new sketches and trying to watch a few episodes of Scandal on Netflix. She also had a standing dinner appointment with her father and grandfather that skipping was not an option. It had become something she’d begun to loathe since her mother died, and she tried not to think about it most of the day. Instead, she answered e-mails, booked a few new clients and avidly avoided looking at the clock.

Being around her family had been something she could deal with before her mother died. Of course, when her mother was alive, Allison had spent most of her years in boarding school, finally coming to Beacon Hills to finish out her junior and senior year after a rather troubling incident at her last private school. She had tried to explain to her parents that the only reason she shot out the headmaster’s tires was he was going to kick her off the archery team for something meaningless and stupid, but they just put her in public school like it was some form of punishment.

She was in the middle of trying to sort through a stack of sketches and sorting through her laundry when someone knocked on her front door. Allison knew who it was, just by the way they knocked.

She stuck her head out of the little cubby that housed her washer and dryer, off the edge of the kitchen. “It’s open!”

“One of these days, I wish you would learn to lock this door!” Her stepmother came strolling in, carrying a tray of Starbucks and a white paper bag that smelled amazing even from where Allison was standing.

“Being the daughter of the man who owns the town’s only gun business has its perks, Natalie. No one’s gonna break into my house,” Allison said, kicking the washer door shut and starting the machine.

Natalie Martin, who became Natalie Martin-Argent three years after Victoria Argent died, was an amazing stepmother. She was warm and loving, and one of the only people she’d ever seen stand up to Gerard. Plus, she and her daughter Lydia had come as a package deal, and Allison’s best friend became her sister. Lydia, who was lucky enough to be allowed to opt out of the family dinners, had been her friend since her first day at Beacon Hills High School.

Natalie sat breakfast down and wrapped her arms around her in a hug. “No, they’re just going to walk right in because you don’t lock the door.”

When Chris and Natalie first got together, Allison had expected her to criticize her on everything. Lydia had warned her how critical she could sometimes be, at least when Lydia was in high school. But it never happened. No off the handle comments about her tattoos, no little jabs about how she’d be so pretty if it weren’t for the hair dye. None of the stuff that her some of her other family members liked to say to her. Natalie wasn’t a stranger, being Lydia’s mom, but she still came into the Argent family and treated her better than most of her actual family members did.

“Did you come over to pick at my living habits, or bribe me with a yummy breakfast to tell me something?” Allison asked, grabbing the caramel macchiato out of the tray had her name written on the side of the cup.

“No, I just wanted to drop this off before I head over to Talia’s. Her son is moving back today, and we’re all throwing him a little welcome home party,” She hesitated, before putting on a bright smile. “You could come if you’d like.”

Allison almost choked on her coffee. “No…no, I’m good. You go ahead. I’m sure I’ll meet him eventually.”

She didn’t even know if Natalie knew that Derek used to be married to her aunt and that Allison already knew who he was. Kate was a sore subject with her friends, who were all friends with the Hales, and she never really got a straight answer why. She also didn’t think about it too much. Kate had always been there for Allison and done a lot to help her get on her feet business wise, but she did her best not to bring her name up in conversation.

“Okay well, I’ll see you at dinner tonight? Apparently, your grandfather is trying out a new recipe. Three years, and I’ll still never understand that man’s obsession with cooking,” Natalie said with a shrug.

“It’s a balance thing; he thinks that his cooking will somehow make up for the years of emotional abuse he put this family through before his heart attack,” she said. Gerard had been kind to her, if not a little more than strict, but from what her father told her she couldn’t just think of him as that nice grandpa.

Natalie forced a small smile, picking up the cup of coffee for herself. “Lock the door behind me, Allison.”

“Yes, Nat.” She promised, and Natalie smiled fondly, patting her on the cheek before turning towards the door. Once she was through it, Allison hesitated before twisting the lock.

Immediately she sent a text to Lydia, begging her to come to dinner and keep her from suffering alone. She had no doubt that Gerard was going to go off on a tirade; any time the Hale family was even mentioned, she swore that she could see the veins in his forehead when he began ranting. She had no idea why the families didn’t get along. She’d been in boarding school and then private school, and had missed the worst of it between them. When she came back, her mother had told her, for the sake of argument, not to mention any of the Hales. It was hard to do when Cora was her friend. She was pretty sure that her family and the Hale family had only been in the same room willingly twice; Allison and Cora’s graduation, and Kate and Derek’s wedding.

Lydia sent her back a text as she was digging through the bag of pastries, letting her know that she would be there. Allison was kind of grateful to have her as a best friend and a sister. It was having Lydia there that would make dinner bearable at least.

With one of the lemon squares that Natalie brought partially hanging out of her mouth and Teenage Wasteland by The Who blaring from the speakers of her laptop, she set out to organize the mess that was her desk. There were sketches everywhere, and she could hear her mother's voice in her head chastising her about the mess. Victoria Argent had liked tidiness and order, and Allison could just imagine the look on her face if she saw the clutter that had taken over the corner of her apartment that served as her office. Maybe she was unorganized in spite of her mother. Victoria had been a loving mother, but she hadn’t supported Allison in becoming a tattoo artist and hadn't thought that it was a worthy profession. She had wanted something more for her, and that was probably a normal parent reaction. And yet, Allison had graduated valedictorian, built up a portfolio and then apprenticed at one of the most prominent shops in Northern California for three years. She was twenty four with her shop, which Victoria had never had the chance to see. She'd always thought that drawing was a hobby for her, and she should focus on being something a little more respectable.

Her cell phone nearly vibrated off of the desk with a text message notification, and she paused her music to read it.  It was from her dad, asking her to come to the house a little earlier for dinner.

“Fantastic.” She muttered to herself, wondering if would be acceptable to bring alcohol.

=

When they were back on the road, Derek behind the wheel, his sister finally risked a glance at him.

“You okay?”

“Yeah. I just didn’t expect to run into any of the Argents so soon,” Derek admitted quietly.

Cora shrugged her shoulders, running her fingers through her hair. “It’s been pretty quiet. I still get dirty looks from the guys that work at the store with them, but other than that none of them say anything to me. Mom and Chris, they get along. Everyone usually avoids Gerard because he’s a grumpy old bastard who needs to drop dead.”

Derek really couldn’t agree more. He narrowed his eyes at the large store right near the center of town, the bright red letters above the doors reading ‘Argent Armory’. They’d expanded. There had been a time when it was just a modest sized store that Derek had refused to set foot in no matter how many times Kate had tried. Just like she never came to his mother’s shop. It felt wrong, and he could assure himself he’d never find a reason to go into this store either.

“Are we going to mom’s house or the shop?” Derek asked as they stopped at a red light. Cora pulled her sunglasses down on the bridge of her nose, looking at him funny. “What?”

“I wasn’t supposed to tell you, but there’s a thing—” He cut her off with a groan.

“Cora!”

“—at mom’s place, just a little family get together. And if you don’t go you know that mom is going to throw the biggest fit imaginable. But mom won’t be mad at you; she’ll be mad at me. And I love you big brother, but you’re not bringing the wrath of Talia Hale down on my ass,” she finished, giving him a cheeky grin.

He shouldn’t have been surprised. When he’d told Talia that he planned on moving back, he’d listened to her sob on the phone, laughing most of the time and telling him how happy she was, for forty five minutes. As much as he wanted to get to his new apartment and start unpacking his stuff, he knew he had to see everyone first. As frightening as that idea may be.

The Hale house was still as massive as he remembered, planted square in the middle of the Beacon Hills Preserve. Their family owned it all, and Derek had some great memories playing in those woods with Laura, Cora, and their cousin Malia when they were all children. But the changes to the house were noticeable; the redone wrap around porch, the new paint, and the glimpse that Derek got of the guest house in the back as he parked the truck beside a very expensive looking Porsche.

“That belong to Jackson?” he asked, impressed. Cora smirked.

“His family’s loaded, so at least he’s not marrying into ours for money,” she said as she undid her seatbelt. Derek didn’t move; fingers still curled around the steering wheel. She reached over and squeezed his arm. “Hey, you okay?”

He nodded, swallowing hard. “I’m great.”

The front door opened, and Talia stepped out, and he immediately wanted to rethink that answer. His mother was as beautiful as ever, dressed casually in jeans and a flowy floral top, her hair piled up on top her head. She was staring at him with a smile on her face, tears glistening in her eyes and Derek undid his seatbelt, slowly getting out of the truck.  She didn’t move from the spot she was standing in, leaning against the railing and watching him as he got closer to the porch. He didn’t think she was going to move at all, but she didn’t get the chance. The front door opened wider, and Laura came running out. Derek only had a few moments to brace himself before she was jumping off of the steps and into his arms, wrapping herself around him. The impact was enough to knock them back a step or three, but he didn’t fall, instead wrapping his arms around her back.

While Cora was the one he’d talked to the most while he was in New York, Laura was the one he’d been close to before. They were Irish twins, born only eleven months apart. They’d always been close, and she had been the one to take his leaving the hardest. Now, she was crying into his shoulder while their mother and sister watched on. Finally, he lowered her back onto her feet, swiping the tears from beneath her eyes and kissing her on the forehead.

“Welcome home, asshole,” she muttered, batting his hands away to wipe at her face. She’d always hated crying in front of anyone.

“Good to see you too, Laur,” he said with a grin, not even fazed by the name calling.

Talia finally came down the steps, grabbing the sleeve of Derek’s shirt and pulling him into her arms, hugging him tight enough to make it hard to breathe. But Derek let her; she’d earned that right. He buried his face in his mother’s neck, inhaling the familiar scent of her perfume. He reached out and caught Laura’s hand, pulling her into the embrace as well. Over the top of Talia’s head, Derek could see Cora rolling her eyes like it was a hardship before she finally stepped up on Derek’s other side and put her arms around them as well.

“I feel like there should be some of that cheesy Hallmark music playing,” Laura said, and Cora reached over and slapped the back of her head.

Talia’s eyes were red and her cheeks blotchy, but she smiled at all of her children when they pulled away. “Was your flight okay? Cora didn’t get any speeding tickets or run over anyone on the way here, did she?”

“Hey!” Cora said, offended. She glanced at Derek, and they silently agreed not to say anything about seeing the Argents at the gas station. It would only upset Talia.

“The flight was fine, but who taught her how to drive? I felt like I was gonna die a few times,” he teased.

“Hey, Derek?” Cora’s voice was sweet, but he still knew better.  She socked him in the shoulder, directly over the same spot as before, “That’s two.”

Someone cleared their throat from the porch steps, and Derek glanced up to see the guy that he assumed was Jackson standing there. Derek remembered him now; he’d been the first freshman to make captain of the lacrosse team, and Cora had called him a pretentious douche on more than one occasion. He stood there, hands stuffed in his pockets and a bored expression on his face, and Derek could tell that he hadn’t exactly changed since high school.

“Derek,” Laura pulled him towards the porch, and Jackson came down the stairs. “This is my fiancée, Jackson Whittemore. Jackson, this is my brother, Derek.”

The look on Derek’s face must have been intimidating, because Jackson swallowed hard and shook Derek’s hand, smiling.

“It’s great to meet you. Finally, I had to talk Laura out of flying to New York to get you and drag you back here herself,” he said. Laura scrunched up her nose at him in a way that Derek had never seen her do with anyone, wrapping an arm around Jackson’s waist.

“Do I have to do the obligatory ‘if you hurt my sister, I’ll hurt you’ speech?” Derek wondered. Jackson laughed, shaking his head.

“Cora already did that for you,” he assured him.

Talia stepped up to Derek’s side, looping her arm around his. “Are you ready to see everyone again?”

“Everyone?”

“John and Melissa, Alan and Natalie, all the kids. Your uncle and Malia are here as well.” She said.

“Isaac too, Boyd will be here after work,” Cora added.

“And my friend Danny, he’s going to be the best man because—well, Laura, did you ask him yet?” Jackson asked. Derek looked back and forth between the two of them.

“Ask me what?”

“Oh, right! I wanted to ask if you’d be the one to give me away at the wedding.” She said, and he didn’t have to look down at his mother’s face to know that she was crying again.

“Of course, I’ll do it,” he said, and she beamed at him. He couldn’t help but think about the fact that if their father hadn’t died, he would be the one to give her away. She seemed to be thinking the same thing and reached out, squeezing his hand.

“Okay, standing outside crying isn’t productive. Let’s go in!” Talia said.

Derek hoped that there was beer in there as well.

=

The building that held The Silver Arrow had sat empty for years before Allison finally had the money to buy it. It was situated between a bookstore that had probably been there since before Allison was born and the Hale’s florist shop. When her father found out that she bought the space, he begged her to find somewhere else. But there weren’t any other available spaces of that size, and it was the perfect setup for a tattoo shop. Chris was finally getting over it because he realized that his daughter’s accomplishment was more important than where the shop was.

Even on her day off, she couldn’t stay away from the place. It was her baby and her biggest success, and if she never had to leave it, she wouldn’t have a problem with that. Pushing her sunglasses up into her hair, she pushed open the door and stepped into the building. Hayden was behind the desk, and she beamed up at Allison when she saw her.

“We’re going to have to start padlocking the door when you’re not here, you’ll never get a day to yourself otherwise,” she said. Allison smiled.

“I don’t mind, sitting at home only gets me so far before I feel like I’m jumping out of my skin with the need to do something,” She glanced towards the back. “Who’s in today?”

Hayden flipped open the schedule book, running a finger down the page. “Boyd’s got a client right now, and Scott has a few appointments this evening, Stiles is off for the night.  Brett’s next appointment is in an hour.”

Another perk of owning her shop was that she got to pick her staff. Maybe it was a little selfish hiring her friends, but they were all talented artists, and she wouldn’t have them working there otherwise. They each had their unique skills; Stiles did the most realistic portraits that Allison had ever seen. Scott worked mostly with black and grey, while Boyd did color and Brett did more abstract work. The Silver Arrow was the only tattoo shop in Beacon Hills, and business was great. Having people she got along with working for her just made things run a hell of a lot smoother.

“Erica?” She asked, referring to the girl who did the piercings and cosmetic tattoos.

She popped her head out of the tiny room that she used as her station, blonde curls pulled back in a ponytail. “I had a walk in earlier for a nose piercing, but nothing right now. You’d think more people would be eager to be stuck with needles.”

It was hard to believe in high school they hadn’t gotten along with one another. Allison was pretty sure that Erica got a little bit of a joy of being able to stick people with needles and sometimes make them cry, but she never said that out loud.

“Isn’t it your day off?” Erica asked, and Allison rolled her eyes.

“Yep, that’s the way to treat the girl who signs your paychecks,” She pushed open the little swinging door off to the left of the receptionist desk and stepped through. “I like coming here on my days off! What else am I gonna do?”

“Uh, have a life maybe?” Erica suggested, following after her as she went into her office.

Allison had heard that one before, from more than just Erica. Because while she had her friends and she had her tattoo shop, and spent some time with her family, that was it. There were no boyfriends, not since Scott. She hadn’t seen the point of dating anyone, at least not seriously. A few dates here and there since she and Scott split a few months after they graduated, but no one had kept her attention since.

“We can’t all be social butterflies like you, Erica!” Brett called from down the hall. She pouted, slouching against the doorframe.

“Ally, I love you girl, but you are like the…what, ninth wheel here?” She pointed out.

Before she could defend herself, Boyd appeared behind Erica, wrapping an arm around her from behind so he could lean into the office. Allison was glad for the distraction, and she ignored the little twinge of jealousy she felt when she saw Erica lean into his touch and smile softly.

“I’m out, boss.” He said, and she blinked at him in confusion.

“Good for you?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.

Boyd smirked. “I’ve got that thing to go to at the Hale’s, I thought I mentioned it to you, and you said you were cool with me leaving a little early. Then again, you’re not supposed to be here today so…”

“You didn’t say it was something at the Hale’s,” she said, ignoring that last part.

“I didn’t know that part mattered,” he said, and Allison felt like kicking herself because it wasn’t supposed to matter.

“No, no, you’re fine. Natalie mentioned going to the same thing; that’s all,” she said quickly.

Despite her grandfather’s warnings about the Hale’s, Allison was friends with Cora and Laura, and constantly visiting Talia at the flower shop to get flowers for her mother’s grave. They’d never been anything but nice to her, so she saw no reason to act like they were the worst people on the planet like Gerard did.

“Great, so I’ll see you tomorrow?” Boyd leaned down and kissed the side of Erica’s head. “And I’ll see you later tonight.”

“Tell Derek I said hi!” Erica called after him as he left, and then her full attention was back on Allison. “What was that all about, I thought you liked the Hales.”

Allison was realizing that it had probably been a bad idea to come into the shop. “I do. It’s just it's family dinner night, and Derek Hale is back in Beacon Hills, and I’m pretty sure my grandfather is going to blow a gasket at the table ranting about how bad this is.”

Erica smirked. “Well maybe he’ll get so worked up he’ll have a stroke right there at the table.”

“Erica!” Allison admonished, but she was trying not to laugh. Because at the end of the day, Gerard was still her grandfather. And yet, she probably wouldn’t feel as bad as she should if something were to happen to him.

“I’m just saying, don’t let your grumpy old grandpa ruin everything. If the man spoke to a Hale, he’d know that they’re not as evil as he thinks,” she said with a shrug, before turning and leaving the office.

Allison couldn’t help but agree, though she knew her grandfather never would.

=

Derek wandered into the kitchen to get a second beer, only to find Lydia Martin already there, leaning against the counter in a pair of dangerous looking high heels and mixing vodka into a glass of cranberry juice. Her green eyes honed in on him like she’d been waiting for him, and for a moment he felt like a deer caught in the headlights.

“Derek Hale,” she turned to look at him, one hand on her hip.

He grabbed a bottle of beer off of the bottom shelf in the refrigerator. “Lydia Martin.”

“So you’re staying for good then?” She wondered, maneuvering around him to get a few ice cubes out of the freezer, dropping them into her glass.

“Looks like it,” he said, and her smile was genuine.

“I’m glad,” she said, stirring her drink with her finger.

Talia had been friends with Natalie Martin, Melissa McCall, and Claudia Stilinski since they’d all been in elementary school, and by extension Derek had grown up with Lydia, Scott, and Stiles always around. The three families had always been close and been there for each other. When Scott’s father’s drinking became more than too much, and Melissa left him. When Claudia lost her battle to dementia, and John had to raise Stiles on his own, Natalie’s nasty divorce that almost cost her Lydia because Lydia’s father had wanted soul custody. And when Derek’s father died, everyone had been there to support Talia and her children when she’d needed it.

“You’re going to be working at the shop?” Lydia wondered, sitting on one of the stools at the island.

He nodded, looking at her warily. “Why? What are you plotting?”

Because if there was one thing that he remembered about her as a teenager, it was that Lydia always had ulterior motives. They weren’t bad, but once she got a plan in her head, she did everything that she could to see it through to the end. From what Cora had told Derek, Lydia had been the one to introduce Jackson and Laura and made sure that Jackson didn’t screw it up.

“Nothing yet,” She pursed her lips and looked him over. “But you’ve only been here a few hours. Give me time.”

Stiles came into the kitchen, and Derek didn’t imagine the way that Lydia’s eyes lit up when she saw him. Bitterly, he couldn’t help but think that Kate had never once looked at him like that. He quickly kicked that thought out of his head and offered Stiles a beer from the refrigerator.

“Nah, I’m good. I’ve got a shift in a while, and I’m pretty sure coming to work buzzed is grounds for firing, even if I’m friends with the boss.” He said.

“Wielding needles while drunk isn’t counterproductive.” Lydia agreed, and Derek’s eyebrows rose in silent question.

“I’m a tattoo artist.” Stiles clarified, pushing up the sleeves of his flannel to show off the ink on his skin.

It didn’t seem like something Stiles would have done; Derek remembered him being terrified of needles when they were kids. He had expected him to follow in his dad’s footsteps and become a cop, but Stiles always did have a habit of doing the unexpected.

“The tattoo shop by mom’s shop? I got a glimpse of it on the way through town,” Derek nodded. “I think Cora mentioned that Boyd and Scott work there too.”

Boyd appeared in the kitchen doorway, smiling at Derek. “I heard my name.”

Derek grinned, walking over and hugging him. Talia had taken in Isaac and Boyd before they were even in high school; Isaac because his father was an abusive man who enjoyed the act of locking his son in a freezer when he thought he did something wrong, and Boyd after his little sister died and his parents just couldn’t deal. Isaac had been the one who she took legal guardianship of, but Derek had always treated both of them as his brothers.

“How’d it go with the unicorn girl?” Stiles asked with a smirk.

“The what girl?” Derek asked, almost afraid to know. Boyd laughed.

“A girl came into the shop, and she wanted a unicorn on her—”

“Oh my god,” Lydia nearly choked on her drink. “Please don’t say she wanted it where I think she wanted it?”

“No, no she wanted it on the top of her foot. But she just about passed out when she was getting the outline done, and she was determined to come back and get it finished even though the pain was unbearable for her. She made it through it today, though I’m pretty sure I learned more curse words than I knew existed.” Boyd explained.

Derek had been twenty when he got his one, and only tattoo and the pain hadn’t even been that much to deal with. Kate, of course, had hated it and didn’t understand the meaning behind it.

“Has the party moved into the kitchen?” Talia asked, coming into the room. Stiles grinned and hooked an arm around her neck.

“Aunt Talia, when are you gonna come and get a tattoo?” He wondered. She rolled her eyes fondly at him.

Derek smiled, it felt good to be home. To be able to be surrounded by his friends and family. No one had mentioned his ex-wife, no one brought up anything about the past. They were just happy to have him back. There wasn’t a feeling like he’d never left, which he was glad for. Things seemed better than they’d been before, at least so far.

Natalie came into the kitchen. “It’s been wonderful seeing you again, Derek, but I’ve got to run. Family dinner night.”

“I’m going too, emotional support,” Lydia said, finishing off her drink and slipping off the stool. Stiles wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, kissing her forehead.

“Tell Chris I said hi,” he said, the sarcasm in his voice evident. Lydia narrowed her eyes at him, and Derek blinked in confusion.

“Chris? Chris Argent?” He asked. Natalie bit her lower lip, glancing over at Talia. He got why they’d kept this from him, but it was still a shock to him.

“Yes, Chris and I got married three years ago,” Natalie said.

Derek somehow managed to get a smile onto his face. “Um, congratulations. I'm happy for you, Natalie.”

“Thank you, Derek. That means a lot.” She said, giving him a quick hug. “It’s great to have you home.”

“Agreed. I’ll see you at work tomorrow,” Lydia said with a smile, leaving a smudge of lipstick on Derek’s cheek when she kissed him.

Once they’d said their goodbyes to everyone, Talia came back to Derek, looking at him with worry. He knew what she was thinking, that this little revelation was going to affect him being there. Because Natalie was close to the Hales, and yet married to an Argent. But it was okay; Chris wasn’t nearly as bad as the rest of them. He could deal with them Natalie and Chris married, but dealing with Gerard was another story entirely.

=

After Chris remarried Natalie, he sold the house that Allison had spent holidays and the last two years of high school living in and the two of them moved into a new house in the same neighborhood. Allison was glad, she couldn’t see spending more time in the old house after her mother died, not with all of the memories that were there. And after Gerard had his heart attack, he moved into the small apartment that was off of the garage. This was something that she wasn’t glad about, having her grandfather there every time that she went to see her father and constantly criticizing her every move. Their relationship was tense, but ever since Allison moved out on her own, the weekly family dinner deal was something she wouldn’t skip. Couldn’t skip, really, as both her father and her grandfather would guilt trip her for not going.

The house smelled amazing when she walked in that night; that was something positive she could say about Gerard. He was an amazing cook and probably the main reason that she wasn’t a vegetarian. She shrugged out of her coat, tattoos on full display with the tank top that she’d worn beneath it, and hung it on the rack before venturing into the living room where everyone was gathered.

Her father smiled warmly at her when he saw her, getting up out of his favored chair to come and hug her. Seeing her dad was the best part of coming to the dinners; after her mom died they relied on each other and were able to stay close through everything.

“Evening all,” She greeted, sitting down beside Lydia on the couch. The redhead smirked at her, nudging her knee with her own.

“How was your day off?” She asked, and Allison nodded.

“It was goods,” she said. Chris chuckled.

“You spent most of the time at the shop again, didn’t you?” he wondered.

She blushed a little and rolled her eyes. “Yes, because I have become predictable. Thank you.”

Gerard came into the living room from the kitchen, offering Allison a slightly less warm smile than Chris had. He had a habit of being able to judge her without saying anything, and it drove her a little insane.

“Allison dear, so glad you could make it,” he said, as if the dinner was optional. There weren’t any hugs offered, and she didn’t make the effort to offer him one either.

“Dinner smells great,” she said, putting as much cheer into her voice as she could. Praising Gerard’s cooking was the easiest way to avoid the tension that always seemed to be there since Victoria died.

Just like she thought, that seemed to brighten him up a bit. “Thank you. Everything is ready, let’s head to the dining room?”

The long cherry wood table was from the old house, and beneath the spot where Allison always sat, her name was carved into the underside of the table. Lydia sat beside her at the table, and Allison was glad to have her there. They all dished out their food and poured a little wine, catching up on their weekly events. She was kind of happy for the idle chatter; it made their family seem a bit more normal. She liked hearing about Natalie’s classes, and the customers that came into her dad’s store, and Lydia’s days at the flower shop right next to the tattoo shop.

“Speaking of the flower shop,” Allison felt her breath catch in her throat when Gerard spoke up. “Guess who we saw at the gas station this morning? Derek Hale.”

Chris let his fork clatter to the table noisily. “We said we weren’t going to bring him up, dad.”

Gerard put up both of his hands in a gesture of self-defense. “I was just pointing it out; I didn’t say anything negative about him.”

“Yet,” Lydia muttered, taking a sip of her wine.

“Gerard, do I need to remind you that the Hales are friends of mine?” Natalie asked, anger edging into her voice. Chris reached over and took her hand, a silent show of support that Allison was glad for.

He didn’t even look sorry that he brought it up, that was the worst part. Allison didn’t understand why he hated the family so much, none of them had shown any reason for anyone to hate them.

“And do I need to remind you what that boy has done to my family? Maybe I should call Kate—”

“NO!” Lydia and Chris shouted in unison, and Allison’s mouth fell open in confusion.

Chris cleared his throat. “There’s no need to call her. Derek won’t be a problem, and if you proceed to make yourself one for him, then you’ll have to answer to me.”

Gerard scoffed. “Who do you think you are, talking to your father like this?” He asked.

“I’m serious. I will find the first home that will take you and have you put there and make sure that you never get out, don’t push me on this, dad. Leave the Hales alone.” Chris said, his tone threatening.

Lydia cleared her throat delicately, taking a bite of her chicken and pointedly staring at her plate. Allison was just trying to figure out what happened as the table fell silent. Her father sat at one end of the table looking uncomfortable, and her grandfather sat at the other end, silently fuming. Natalie offered her a tentative smile, but any good mood that had been there before dinner was gone.

They finished eating in silence, and Allison ignored the half-finished glass of wine that she had, wanting to be clear headed when she drove. And when Lydia asked her for a ride home, she was grateful for the excuse. She hugged her father and Natalie goodbye and pointedly ignored Gerard as she left, Lydia trailing behind her.

“That man is the absolute worst,” Lydia said once they were in the car and on the way to Lydia and Stiles’ apartment.

Allison couldn’t argue or defend him. “Maybe he’ll push my dad’s luck, and he’ll stuff him in a home like he said he would.”

She couldn’t help but be glad that she’d spent her time in boarding schools and private schools, away from that man. Who knew what she would have turned out like had she grown up in a house under his influence? She probably wouldn’t be where she was in her life now.

Stiles was sitting on the steps outside of their apartment complex, a cigarette burning between his fingertips as the car’s headlights washed over him. Allison put the car in park, and Lydia leaned over and hugged her.

“Do you wanna come in for a bit, watch a movie?” She asked. Allison smiled and shook her head.

“Thanks, but I think I’m going to head home. I’ve got an early morning.” She said.

Stiles came over, opening Lydia’s door for her and helping her out of the car. He leaned down to look inside. “Hey, Ally A, how was dinner?”

“You don’t even want to know.” Lydia sighed, leaning into him.

“Well, maybe someone will drop a house on that grumpy old man, and you’ll be able to weasel out of next week’s dinner?” Stiles suggested, and Allison laughed in spite of herself.

“I love you guys; I’ll see you tomorrow!” She said. The two of them waved goodbye and Stiles shut the door.

Allison waited for them to make it inside, watching with a smile on her face as Stiles twirled Lydia around and then hooked his arm around her neck, leading her towards the stairs as she giggled against his side. Again, she felt that little pang of jealousy that she’d gotten earlier. She pushed that feeling down and put the car in reverse.

=

Derek had always loved the flower shop, ever since he was a kid. The smell of the flowers, the greenhouse that he used to pretend was a jungle when he was little, running between the rows of plants and flowers with his sisters. His father taught him everything he knew about caring for the plants, one of his best memories with him had been in the back room of the shop, perched on a stool while he listened to his dad talk about seeds and how they grew.

He’d been in Beacon Hills for two days, and he hadn’t had a run in with any other Argents since. With Laura, Cora and Jackson’s help, he’d managed to get his entire loft unpacked and organized, and he’d spent the past two nights having dinner with his mother and his sister’s, trying to catch up on as much of the time he’d lost that he could.

His being back didn’t stir up as much talk in town as he thought it might, though people did come into the shop and welcome him home. The Hales were an influential family, one of the families who had been in Beacon Hills the longest, and that meant something to the people in town.

“I’m just saying, it’s adorable when you get all flushed after someone welcomes you back,” Cora said from her seat on the stool behind the counter.

Derek turned and sprayed her with the water bottle he was holding, and she screeched indignantly before bursting into laughter. He rolled his eyes, but he was unable to keep the smile off of his face. His cell phone chirped in his back pocket. It was a text message from Lydia, asking him to help with the coffee she’d brought.

“You good in here? Lydia brought coffee,” he said. Cora saluted him, before turning her attention back to the game on her cell phone.

When he walked outside, he saw Lydia standing a little farther down the sidewalk, talking to Scott’s girlfriend Kira, who he met the night before, and a brunette who had her back to him. Lydia looked over the girl’s shoulder and smiled brightly at him. Warning bells went off in Derek’s head, and he almost turned and walked back into the shop.

“Derek! Come meet Allison,” she said, and the girl turned around to look at him.

He knew that he had no choice to go over there unless he wanted to look like he was being mean and antisocial, and he hesitantly walked down the sidewalk where the girls were standing.

“Hi,” he said, hoping that he at least sounded somewhat friendly.

“Hey, Derek. Long time no see,” Allison said with a small smile, rocking back on her heels.

Allison was Kate’s niece; she was that Allison. It was a sudden revelation, and seeing as how he hadn’t seen her since his and Kate’s wedding, Derek shouldn’t have been surprised that she didn’t look anything like the same fourteen year old girl he’d met then. The tattoos, for starters, caught his attention. Especially the sleeve of vintage looking pink roses that crawled up her right arm, and the edges of what looked to be a dreamcatcher on her thigh, peeking out from beneath the hem of her skirt. He was staring, and she realized that he was staring, but she didn’t seem to mind it.

“Oh, so Derek’s like your…uncle?” Kira wondered, and both Derek and Allison glanced at her, one with a look of uncomfortable horror and the other with a look of mild amusement.

“No,” they said at the same time.

Lydia stifled a laugh against the lid of her coffee cup, and Derek shot her a dark look. She flicked her eyebrow up in a challenge for him to say something, and he realized that she’d set up this little meeting on purpose. She was trying to play matchmaker.

“Kate and Derek weren’t married long enough for me to think of him as…family. No offense,” Allison said with an apologetic smile.

“None taken,” Derek said.

But he still found himself looking at her and wondering if there were any similarities there, beneath the surface, between Allison and Kate. On the outside, it was like night and day and Derek didn’t know why the thought of that comforted him and made it easier for him to want to get to know Allison.

“Do you have any tattoos, Derek?” Lydia asked nonchalantly, and he couldn’t help but notice the way Allison’s eyes lit up at the mention of tattoos.

He nodded, “I have one, yeah.”

Allison looked him up and down like she was trying to figure out where it was on his body. He let her look, it was only fair. But it didn’t mean he was about to flash his tattoo for everyone to see.

“Allison doesn’t believe in ‘only one’ tattoo. I guarantee you’ll be in the shop soon,” Lydia said proudly, and Allison grinned at her best friend.

The door to the tattoo shop opened, and a kid stuck his head out. “Uh, Miss Argent?”

“Oh my god Liam, for the hundredth time, my mother was Mrs. Argent. If you don’t start calling me Allison, I’m going to tattoo my name on your forehead so you’ll remember,” Allison said in exasperation. But it was said fondly, even if the kid did look a little terrified of her.

“Sorry…Allison. But Stiles is five seconds away from having a nuclear meltdown because someone moved the paper for the light board?”

Lydia gestured towards the shop. “I’m gonna go help him find it. Kira, come help us find the paper?” She suggested.

Kira looked confused for a minute. “Why would I?”

“Because Lydia wants to leave Derek and me out here alone to talk,” Allison supplied, and Derek narrowed his eyes at Lydia.

“Exactly,” Lydia said, grabbing Kira’s hand and pulling her into the shop. That left Derek and Allison standing alone on the sidewalk, staring at each other awkwardly.

Allison twisted her fingers, almost nervously. “So, how’ve you been? It must be nice to be back home. You bought that building at the edge town, right?”

It all came out of her in a rush, and Derek grinned despite himself. He could feel the tension between them dissipating as she laughed nervously.

“Should I answer all three of those at once? If so then I’m good, it’s great being back, and yeah I bought the building,” he said, and she blushed a little.

“Sorry, it’s just…this should be weird right? I feel like it should be weird,” she said, gesturing between them. He knew what she meant.

Derek shrugged. “It should be, but it’s not.”

“So we’re just going to ignore the blonde elephant in the room, so to speak? Because I’m all for that.” She admitted. If Derek had been drinking something, he would have choked. Instead, he let out a startled laugh, and Allison smiled, ducking her head and tucking her hair behind her ear.

“I’m okay with that,” he gestured towards the tattoo shop. “How long have you worked here?”

She beamed with pride. “Since I opened it, I own the shop.”

That was impressive, he had to admit. Someone so young being able to get a business up and running, especially in Beacon Hills of all places, was pretty rare. He remembered the building being sort of run down and faded, but Allison seemed to have brought life back to the place, and judging from what he could see the inside looked pretty good too.

“That’s great,” he said, and he meant it.

The smile slid off of her face when she looked past him, and Derek looked over his shoulder to see Peter walking towards them. The look on his face wasn’t entirely friendly, and Derek sighed inwardly. His uncle had a tendency to be a little cynical when it came to people outside of the family, especially after what happened with Kate. He considered himself to be wary, but Derek thought it just made him seem like an ass.

“Derek, I need your assistance with something over at the shop, please,” Peter stopped and gave Allison a quick once over. “Miss Argent.”

Derek didn’t miss the way that her eyes narrowed at him. “Hi, Peter. I’ll see you around, Derek.”

She turned and walked into the tattoo shop without another word, and Derek turned to glare at his uncle. Peter stared back at him impassively, and Derek knew calling him out on his rudeness was pointless because Peter wasn’t even sorry.

“Making new friends, are we?” Peter asked with a smirk, and Derek only glared harder.

“You needed something?” He asked.

Peter hooked his arm around Derek’s shoulders, leading him back to the flower shop. “Speaking of the Argents, I just wanted to let you know that Kate agreed to the amount you offered from the apartment sale.”

Derek was relieved. Knowing Kate like he did, he’d thought that she would ask for more. But it was his money that had bought the apartment in the first place, and she should have been lucky that he was giving her anything at all. But it was in the divorce agreement, and if it kept her off of his back, he would have agreed to it.

“She doesn’t know, does she? That I’ve come home?” He asked.

Peter shook his head. “As far as your ex-wife is aware, you’re still in New York. As long as the checks clear, she won’t come looking for you. She’s not a problem anymore, nephew.”

Derek just hoped that Peter was right.

=

The small flower vase was sitting on Allison’s desk three days later when she walked in, and she looked at it with surprise. She knew a little about flowers; they were orange Calla Lilies in an ornate black vase, and a small card with her name written on it was leaning up against them. Hesitantly, she picked up the card and opened it.

Sorry that my uncle was a douche.

D.H.

Allison blinked, trying to keep the small smile off of her face. Derek Hale had sent her flowers. It was a nice gesture, something that she hadn’t expected. Not to say that Derek didn’t seem nice the other day, but she was just surprised.

“Nice flowers,” she turned around to see Scott leaning in the doorway of her office. He had a smirk on his face that made her tilt her head consideringly. “Who are they from?”

Allison rolled her eyes. “You’re doing that thing with your face that tells me you know exactly who they’re from. You let Derek into my office to leave these?”

Scott was still smirking at her, and she was half tempted to kick him in the shin to make him stop. But he was like one of those puppies that you couldn’t stay mad at once the sad face came into play, and he could wield the puppy eyes better than anyone she’d ever known.

“Come out with us tomorrow night,” he suggested, and she groaned, dropping down into her desk chair.

“It’s family dinner night, Scott. Cancelling isn’t an option,” she said regretfully.

“And you’ve never missed one. Don’t you think your dad will cut you a break?” He asked. Allison bit her bottom lip. He had a point, and with the way that Gerard had acted at the last dinner, she thought that Chris might not make her come if she said she had plans with her friends.

“I’ll call him tonight and let him know, okay?” She relented. He grinned, and she couldn’t believe how easy it was for him to be able to wear her down on something, even after all the years they’d known each other.

“Great! Because it’s Jackson and Laura’s engagement party and I’m pretty sure they’d be mad if you weren’t there,” he said, cheeky smile still in place.

How could Allison have forgotten that? She knew that close family was supposed to be doing something, but their friends had all agreed to go out one night to celebrate. The wedding was in two weeks, and she’d already agreed to be a bridesmaid alongside Lydia, Erica, and Cora. She knew that her father would understand; she also knew that Chris hadn’t told Gerard that she was going to be a part of the wedding.

“Let’s go get some work done, yeah? Don’t you have someone to tattoo or something?” She asked, getting up and pushing him out of the doorway.

Allison got a certain joy out of tattooing people; not inflicting pain on them, but seeing the look on their faces when they saw the finish product made her feel wonderful. It was always like that, watching a piece come together on someone’s skin and it turning out better than she imagined. She knew that it was like that for every tattoo artist that she knew, but for her, it was just a sense of happy accomplishment.

When she wasn’t tattooing, she was watching the others. They’d all gotten used to her hovering, to her chatting with the customers while the needles buzzed in the background. Even Stiles, who could barely sit still when there wasn’t a tattoo gun in his hand, liked having her in the room when he was tattooing. The only one she never bothered was Erica because that was a whole different kind of needle entirely, and the last thing she wanted was someone ending up with a crooked piercing because Allison made them laugh.

Just like Scott had thought, her dad was okay with her missing dinner. And instead of spending her morning off trying to sort through one of her old portfolios and figure out what to watch on Netflix, Lydia and Laura kidnapped her for the morning to go shopping.

“So, what did you think of Derek?” Lydia asked as they made their way through Macy’s.

Allison shrugged, pretending to be very interested in a rack of skirts. “I’ve only met him once, Lyds.”

Laura grinned. “I think our Lydia is trying to set you up with my brother. While you don’t know him well enough yet, I approve.”

It was never a good idea to let Laura and Lydia get together and start plotting things; they were dangerous. Allison could only stare at them helplessly because clearly, they’d both lost their minds.

“Did you forget the part where he was married to my aunt?” She asked.

Lydia wrinkled her nose. “I did, as a matter of fact. Kate and Derek have been divorced for four years now, and it’s not like he isn’t easy on the eyes. Tell me you wouldn’t at least consider the idea of a date.”

“I…don’t know him well enough! Laura’s right,” she said lamely, hoping that the subject would drop. But Lydia could be like a dog with a bone once she got an idea in her head.

“You can get to know him more tonight. He’s going out with us. I’m not saying you should jump into bed with him, though that might be just what you need,” she said. Allison’s eyes got as wide as saucers, and she looked around the store to see if anyone overheard.

This was what they were up to. Laura and Lydia were trying to set her up with Derek Hale, her aunt’s ex-husband, and this would be the thing that finally killed her grandfather. Not to mention what her father would think. Their idea was like something out of one of those Lifetime movies. She thought of telling them that she wouldn’t go that night, but she wouldn’t do that to Laura. And what was so bad about getting to know Derek? Lydia was right; it wasn’t like she had to sleep with him.

“Okay, fine. But if it gets awkward, I’m bailing, and neither of you can hold me at fault,” Allison said, pointing between the two of them. They shared a look, before finally nodding in agreement.

“Fantastic,” Lydia pushed a dress into Allison’s hands. “Now go try this on.”

=

Derek was trying to figure out how he was wrangled into going to Sinema with his sisters and their friends. It was an extension of the engagement dinner that the Hales and the Whittemores had, but he still felt a little out of place. The group had confiscated a booth in the corner of the club, and he’d paid for the first round of shots, much to everyone’s delight. But he still felt a little out of place, even though he knew that he shouldn’t have.

A hard punch landed to his shoulder, and he twisted around to see Cora smiling innocently at him.

“Are you going to hit me ten times? Really? Because I’m not going to have to use of my arm by the time you’re done,” he muttered, but judging by the grin on her face, she’d heard him over the loud music.

“It’s okay; you’re left handed. And yes, I’m going to hit you ten times. That’s three. Seven more to go. Suck it up, big brother. And quit brooding! It’s depressing,” she said, before hopping out of the booth and disappearing into the crowd to dance.

Derek scowled, turning into the booth and picking up his bottle of beer. He wasn’t brooding, exactly, but she wasn’t wrong. And he hated that she was right.

“If it helps,” Allison said from his left and Derek turned to look at her. She was nestled in the middle of the booth; a neon blue drink pressed between her hands. “I think the brooding thing works for you.”

He smiled, leaning in a little closer. “This isn’t my thing.”

“Mine either, usually,” she admitted.

Laura let out a delighted laugh, and they both looked to see Jackson saying something closer to her ear that no one could hear. Derek was glad that she was happy, that she had someone who could make her laugh like that.

“We need more shots!” Stiles announced, dropping down beside Jackson, who glared at him.

“I’ll get them,” Allison offered. “Derek, you wanna help me?”

He nodded, sliding out of the booth. She followed after him, and he noticed Lydia smirking at them as they walked by. The bass practically shook the floor beneath his feet, and he squeezed past a group of people to get to the bar. He felt a hand slide into his and looked over his shoulder to see Allison holding onto him so that she wouldn’t get lost in the crowd. She looked embarrassed, but he tightened his grip and pulled her along.

The bar was crowded and it took ten minutes to get the attention of any of the bartenders. Once they placed their order, they ducked into a quiet corner nearby to wait.

“Thanks for the flowers,” she said.

“I’m glad you liked them. I would have sent pink roses but,” He gestured to her arm. “I think that would have been a little obvious.”

Allison glanced down at the tattoos. “I got them for my mom. Pink roses were her favorite.”

Derek had only met Victoria Argent a handful of times, and all of those meetings had been kind of terrifying. The woman had honestly scared him, but he wasn’t about to tell Allison that. She squinted at him, fighting back a smile.

“You were scared of my mother, weren’t you?” She asked knowingly, and Derek laughed, scratching at the back of his neck.

“I was, yeah. She had this way of staring at me like I was going to do something incredibly awful and she was just waiting for it,” he said.

Allison smirked. “Scott would probably agree with you. She scared the hell out of him.”

Derek could believe it. He even thought that maybe Kate had been a little scared of her as well. If she was, she never showed it. He quickly cut off that train of thought; he wasn’t going to stand there and think about Kate while talking to Allison.

“You two dated?” He guessed, and she nodded, glancing through the crowd where their group was, Kira perched on Scott’s lap, laughing at something Erica was telling her.

“In high school, yeah. We’re the best of friends now, though. He convinced me to come out tonight,” she said.

Derek’s mouth twisted upwards; he was going to have to buy Scott an extra round. “You weren’t going to come?”

“No, I usually have a weekly dinner date with my dad…and grandfather…” She trailed off as if she suddenly realized who she was talking to about her family.

“I’m glad you decided to come,” he said instead, and he meant it. She smiled brightly at him, her cheeks flushed from the alcohol she’d had, and he hated himself for thinking it, but that wasn’t a Kate smile. That was an Allison smile, and he liked it.

“Hey,” She nudged his arm and curled her fingers around his wrist. “Our shots are ready.”

=

Allison felt amazing. She was well on her way to being drunk, but it was amazing nonetheless. The music felt like it was beneath her skin, pulsing and moving from where she was out on the dance floor, eyes closed and head tipped back towards the ceiling. It wasn’t often that she got to do this, so she was damn well going to enjoy it. Who knew all it took was a few tequila shots and whatever the hell those blue drinks Lydia kept ordering her were for her to break down and have a good time.

Lydia, Malia, and Kira were dancing with her, the four of them crowded together and laughing.  The music was horrible, but she didn’t care. Someone tugged on her arm, and she opened her eyes to look at Kira.

“Isaac got us water!” She shouted over the music, fanning her face. It was pretty hot in there, all the bodies pressed closely together, and they made their way off the dance floor.

Everyone was still gathered around the booth, in various states of being buzzed or in Stiles’ case, well and truly drunk. Allison accepted the bottle of water that Isaac held out to her, dropping down in the first available spot which happened to be across from Derek. Derek, who she’d spent most of the night talking with while she worked up the buzz she currently had. They’d talked about anything and everything, carefully skirting around the subject of their families. Of Kate.

“Hiya handsome,” She propped her chin up on her hands, smiling at him.

Derek’s face suddenly went blank, and Laura stopped talking, whipping around to look at her with something that resembled horror. Allison didn’t understand. Before she could ask what was wrong, Derek was up and out of the booth, making his way towards the exit without another word.

“What happened?” Scott asked from beside her, concern on his face. Allison bit her bottom lip.

“I don’t know. All I said was—” Laura cut her off.

“Hiya handsome? Kate used to say that exact thing to Derek, Allison.” She explained, not unkindly. Allison’s mouth fell open in shock, and she felt tears come to her eyes. That part she blamed on the alcohol.

“I didn’t know,” she said as Scott squeezed her arm reassuringly. And she hadn’t; it wasn’t like Kate had ever shared any details of her marriage to her, and Allison hadn’t been around to hear this for herself.

“It’s okay; you couldn’t know. Just talk to him and explain that he’ll be okay. Hearing that was just a shock for him, that all,” Laura said.

Allison slipped out of the booth, pushing her way between people to get outside. She expected Derek to be gone. But Boyd and Cora were their designated drivers, and she hoped that Derek wouldn’t just leave everyone. She found him at the edge of the parking lot, sitting on a low brick wall. She approached him hesitantly, wrapping her arms around herself.

“I’m so sorry I said that,” she said, sitting down beside him. He glanced over at her, and he didn’t say anything. “Seriously, Derek. I didn’t even know that my aunt said that to you. I just opened my mouth, and it came out. I don’t have filter when I drink.”

He laughed bitterly. “How could you have known?”

She was confused; he sounded angry, but with himself. She’d been the one to say something stupid, and she couldn’t get why he was mad.

“Was it that bad, being married to her?” She asked suddenly, and Derek looked at her like she’d slapped him.

“Yeah, we’re not having this conversation,” he said, getting up. Allison frowned. Now he sounded like he was mad at her.

She wanted to kick herself, why had she asked him that? “Derek, wait…”

“No, it’s fine. I just can’t talk about her. Ever. With anyone,” hsaid, crossing his arms over his chest. Allison got up.

“I’m okay with that. No talking about Kate,” she said, stepping closer to him.

The tequila was definitely to blame when she pushed herself up on her tiptoes and leaned in to kiss him. Derek didn’t respond, taking her by the arms and gently pushing her back.

“Wait Allison; you’re drunk,” he protested. She blinked at him in confusion, before her eyes widened.

“Oh, my God. Oh…my god,” she covered her mouth with her hand, stepping back a few steps, enough to put some distance between the two of them.

She couldn’t believe that she’d done that. They barely knew each other, and she was throwing herself at him. It wasn’t even the fact that they didn’t know each other, it was the fact that she was drunk and making a complete fool out of herself.

“Allison…” Derek started, but she shook her head.

“Hey, Ally, we’re leaving!” Erica called, and Allison looked to see everyone gathered at the entrance of the bar.

She wanted to apologize for doing something like that, but she was afraid if she tried she was going to do nothing but babble or laugh nervously. “We should go.”

Allison turned and walked away before anything else could be said.

=

Derek wasn’t avoiding Allison, except that he was. He saw her all the time going to and from the tattoo shop, at the grocery store and the bookstore down the street. No one called him on it, even though if they had he probably would have denied it. He could have claimed that he was busy, that he didn’t see her, anything to keep his friends from finding out about the drunken kiss they shared.

The only problem was the wedding rehearsal was coming up, and he couldn’t avoid Allison for that. She was in the wedding party. And it wasn’t like he didn’t want to talk to her, he just didn’t know how to. He knew that she was probably embarrassed by her actions, and he couldn’t believe that he’d reacted the way that he had just because of something that Kate used to say to him, something he found ridiculous now.

They weren’t even married anymore, and Kate still had the ability to mess with any possible relationship he could have. The same thing happened to him in New York when he attempted to date. She would probably be proud of herself if she knew.

“Earth to Derek?” Hearing his name drew him out of his thoughts, only to find Jennifer Blake standing there, looking at him expectantly. “Wow, something has your attention today. Or someone?”

Jennifer had been coming into the shop for over a week, still undecided on the kind of flowers she wanted to put in the garden she was putting in her backyard. After the first few times, Derek thought that she was there for him. But then he noticed her stealing little glances at Peter on the days that he would come in to catch up, and he realized that she was there for his uncle. It was odd, Peter’s wife had died during childbirth, and yet Derek had never seen him with another woman. Instead, he’d focused on raising his daughter and building up his law career. But Derek wasn’t imagining the looks that Jennifer was giving Peter, and the looks he’d sometimes give her in return.

“Sorry, what were you saying?” He asked, smiling apologetically and directly avoiding the question that she’d asked. Jennifer smiled back.

“We were discussing the flowers that are the hardest to kill for first time gardeners,” she said.

He’d had this conversation with customers before, who wanted to start out with a low maintenance garden. He hadn’t had a customer yet who could murder every flower they sold, so that was a plus.

“Cosmos and snapdragons,” a voice said behind him, and he turned around to see Peter standing there, trying to look as nonchalant as he could. Derek smiled to himself, grateful for the rescue. He was distracted, and he wanted to be able to give a customer his full attention.

“I don’t know what either of those look like,” Jennifer admitted, and Derek was surprised that Peter knew what they were. He wasn’t exactly big on being in the flower shop, except when he was visiting the family or going over the books with Talia.

It didn’t take Derek long to find the flowers that Jennifer wanted to order, while she and Peter idly chatted by the greenhouse. He loaded everything onto a cart to wheel outside to her car for her, including a few heavy bags of mulch and some weed killer. She walked ahead of him, popping the trunk and watching as he tossed the mulch bags inside.

“So if I kill these flowers, will I get a refund?” She asked coyly. Derek raised an eyebrow, before grinning.

“On Peter’s dime, you bet. After all, he was the one who suggested these flowers,” he said, setting the containers more carefully in the trunk then he had the mulch. Jennifer laughed delightedly.

“I’ll remember that,” She toyed with her keys. “Derek, can I ask you something? Is your uncle seeing anyone?”

He shook his head. “As far as I know Peter’s very much single. He can be a bit much, but it would never hurt to go out on a date with him.”

Derek wanted to tell her that his uncle was a bit much, he was, in fact, a narcissist so jaded by past events that the idea of dating someone might not be possible, and he didn’t trust anyone that wasn’t family or in their inner circle, but he couldn’t do that. If the way Peter and Jennifer had talked inside the shop was anything to go by, she might stand a chance with him. And even someone like Peter deserved to be happy.

“Oh, well, in that case, give this to him for me,” she said, passing him a card with a number written on it. She kissed him quickly on the cheek, before shutting the trunk and going around to the driver’s side of her car.

He turned to start pushing the car pack towards the shop but stopped short when he saw Allison standing outside of the tattoo shop, looking at him with something like confusion. She’d obviously gotten the wrong idea about himself and Jennifer, but he wasn’t about to clear it up yet. Talia was standing in the doorway of the flower shop, looking back and forth between the two of them like she’d just figured out the big piece of some puzzle.

“Mom…” He started, but she shook her head at him. When Derek looked back towards Allison, she was gone.

“Why don’t we go get some lunch?” Talia suggested.

Derek knew that he had no choice but to agree. One did not run and hide from Talia Hale, and she was his mother. She could find him anywhere. It didn’t stop him from brooding like a child in the passenger seat of her Lexus until they got to the bistro. She’d brought him here before when he was a teenager and started dating Kate. The similarities to the situation were a little frightening. She hadn’t spoken yet, waiting until after they ordered to do so.

“Are you and Allison Argent…involved?” She asked delicately. He wondered if hitting his head on the table hard enough would knock him out.

“I’m an adult. Who I see or don’t see isn’t anyone’s business.” He said moodily, toying with the napkin that lay beneath his silverware.

Talia pursed her lips. “Yes, because that worked out so well the last time.”

Derek couldn’t believe that she’d just said that to him, and judging by the look in her face, neither could she.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that,” She apologized, going quiet when the waitress brought them their drinks. She waited until the girl was gone to speak again. “It’s just…you’re my son. I’m allowed to worry about you. It’s in the job description.”

He couldn’t fault her for that. Not after the last ten years. “We aren’t involved…”

“But you could be? You’re interested in her?” Talia wondered.

Derek didn’t even have to think about that; of course, he was interested in her. She was beautiful and funny, and they had a lot in common. She was the most adorable drunk when she wasn’t putting her foot in her mouth and randomly kissing him. Though he probably wouldn’t mind that last part so much.

“Mom, she’s not like Kate. I don’t even think she knows what Kate is really like,” he said. Talia sipped her club soda.

“Derek, Allison is Kate’s only niece. And the only one in that family Kate gets along with, according to Chris. No, she doesn’t know what Kate is like, or what she’s done. If you were to see her, you would have to tell her everything,” she said.

“If it were to go anywhere, I would tell her. I promise. For now, it was just one drunken kiss in a bar parking lot that I’m pretty sure she regrets,” he said, smiling ruefully. Talia’s eyebrows rose, and she took another drink to hide the little smile on her face.

Kate had worked hard to try and be friendly with his family while they still lived in Beacon Hills, a little too hard. It wasn’t always bad, they’d liked her at first until they found out what she had done, and before they had any evidence of it, she would smile right to their faces like she wasn’t doing anything wrong. It was one of the reasons Derek suggested that they move, to get her away from his family. And the idea of having him all to herself in New York had been pretty appealing to her for a while, until it wasn’t.

“All we want is for you to be happy, sweetheart. Kate could have ruined you. She almost did,” Talia wiped quickly at her eyes. “Just, be careful. I’m not saying she’s anything like Kate. But you have to take care of your heart.”

Derek reached across the table and squeezed his mother’s hand. He understood her hesitation about him getting into another relationship. He didn’t want to make the same mistake twice, but he didn’t want to ignore Allison and act like nothing had happened between them.

After lunch, they drove back to the shop, and as he got out of Talia’s car, he noticed a scrap of paper stuck underneath one of the windshield wipers on his car. He wasn’t parked illegally so that it couldn’t be a ticket. Derek picked it up and unfolded it, seeing that it was from Allison.

I don’t have your cell. Meet me? The pool @ midnight.

-AA

He stuck the note in his pocket and turned around, only to find Talia standing there, arms crossed and looking at him expectantly. Derek pointedly said nothing and walked past her into the flower shop.

=

Allison didn’t think that he was going to show up. She wouldn’t have blamed him after she made a complete fool of herself at the bar. And while she didn’t swear off drinking, she sure as hell swore of tequila and talking in the same timeframe. Sitting on the trunk of her car, she told herself if he didn’t come then she would go home and forget about the entire situation. Because it was very possible that the woman she’d seen him in the parking lot that morning with was someone that he was interested in, and she was just kidding herself.

White light washed over her from the headlights of a familiar black Camaro as it pulled into the parking lot beside her car, and she smiled to herself, sliding off of the trunk as Derek cut the engine. He got out of the car, coming around to the passenger side and leaning against it. She mirrored his pose against her car.

“Hey,” she said quietly, and the corner of his mouth curled up.

“Hi. Is there a reason we’re meeting at the public pool?” Derek wondered.

Allison jingled the set of keys that she was holding. “I thought we could go for a midnight swim.”

He looked from her towards the locked gate ahead of them, and back again. She was about to point out that yes, this was breaking the law because in high school Stiles made a copy of the key and passed it around to just about everyone in school.

“Unless you have someone to be getting home to, in which case this is the dumbest idea that I’ve ever had,” He frowned in confusion, and she rolled her eyes, gesturing. “You and the brunette in the parking lot today?”

He let out a surprised chuckle. “Jennifer? No, no! She’s interested in Peter.”

Allison let out a breath of relief that she didn’t know she was holding. Judging by his reaction to her assumption, he hadn’t expected her to be jealous of someone she didn’t even know, but she was.

“Oh…well then,” She stepped closer to him, boldly curling into the fabric of his t-shirt. She didn’t miss the way that he swallowed hard when he looked down at her. “Wanna break the law with me, Derek Hale?”

“Let’s break the law,” He agreed, and she smirked, dropping the keys to the gate into his hand.

Technically there was supposed to be security at the pool overnight, but ever since kids started breaking into the high school to go swimming, they kept an eye out there instead. Sometimes, a cop would drive through and check and make sure that nothing was going on there; at least that was what Stiles told her. She hadn’t snuck into the pool in a long time, but she felt like being a little rebellious. In more ways than one.

They unlocked the gate and went through, hooking the chain back around loosely instead of relocking it. There were no lights on, not the flood lights above or the ones that ran along the walls inside the pool. The water was a massive black thing, the swim lane ropes practically glowing white on the surface.  Allison knew there was a power box somewhere, but it just seemed better with all of the lights off. The glow of the moon above in the clear night sky gave them all the light that they would need.

She watched him as he took off his shoes and socks and pushed up his jeans, with his back to her, and she stared at his tense shoulders. Obviously, he was still a little iffy about being there with her. He tossed his cellphone and keys onto one of the lounge chairs, before sitting down and sticking his legs into the water. Allison kicked off her flip flops and sat down on the edge of the pool, sticking her feet into the water. The heat of the day had kept the water warm, and she sighed, lifting her hair up off of her sticky neck and piling it into a bun on top of her head.

“This isn’t my first escapade in breaking and entering,” she admitted to Derek, who was silently watching her.

“Somehow I don’t doubt that,” he said as he swung his legs through the water. He was still quiet and tense.

“When we graduated high school, we took a bottle of whiskey from Lydia’s dad and hopped the fence. This was before we had keys. The sheriff was the one who found us, thank God, though he still locked us all up for the night. It probably didn’t help we were skinny dipping,” she said with a laugh.

Derek smirked. “I’m sure your dad loved that.”

Allison’s smile faded a little, remembering how furious her parents had been. She’d only been back in Beacon Hills for half of her junior and all of her senior year, and she managed to get herself into so much trouble in just that time. She was also pretty sure that if she hadn’t been eighteen, they would have shipped her off to boarding school again.

“Are we going to do the idle chit chat thing, or are we going to talk about it?” She asked finally, and he glanced over at her for the briefest of moments before returning his gaze to the water.

“Talk about what?” he was playing dumb, and she hated that. She hated that he had put up this invisible wall between the two of them that she would never be able to get around, and she hated that she didn’t know why.

“In general? The fact that you’ve been avoiding me,” Derek laughed bitterly and Allison grit her teeth. “Specifically, the fact that I tried to kiss you, and you shot me down.”

Derek didn’t say anything at first and for a moment she thought he was going to blow her off, maybe get up and leave. But instead he looked over at her, and she could see something in his eyes that looked like regret.

“You’re Kate’s niece,” he began, but she cut him off before he could get any further.

“I am her niece. I’m also an adult, free to make my choices, and if I cared what anyone thought about me getting involved with you, I would ask their opinion,” she smiled ruefully. “What are you afraid of?”

“I’m scared of making the same mistake twice!” He blurted out, and Allison sucked in a startled breath.

Neither of them said anything for a few moments, staring each other down like they were afraid to move. Allison felt like such a fool, pushing him like that. And yet, she didn’t know exactly what Kate had done to make him like this. A part of her didn’t want to know at all. What she wanted to do was break the tension between them, so she did the only thing she could think of at that moment.

She shoved him into the pool.

Derek’s head broke the surface only moments after she pushed him in, his eyes comically wide as he looked at her like she’d lost her mind. Allison couldn’t help it; she burst out laughing. Eyes narrowing dangerously, he swam over to her and curled one large hand around her thigh, trying to tug her into the pool. But she had a good grip on the side, and she wasn’t letting go for anything. She laughed delightedly, kicking water at him and trying not to fall into the pool at the same time, even as he caught her around her waist and pulled.

Allison was suddenly aware of just how close they were, how she could have tipped her head forward just an inch or two and their lips would touch. The water on his skin was soaking through her clothes where they were touching, and she kept his gaze as she leaned in closer.

“Gotcha,” he whispered, barely audible, but she blinked in confusion right before he used their closeness to his advantage and yanked her into the pool.

The water was most definitely not warm farther down, and she came up gasping for air, glaring at Derek while he laughed. She hadn’t heard him laugh like that, so open and carefree, and it made her laugh as well. She flicked water at him, shoving her hair out of her face. It turned into a childish splashing war until Derek caught her hands and pulled her close.

She stopped laughing, finally taking the opportunity to lean in and kiss him. He tasted a little like chlorine, but that didn’t stop her from wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer. This time, Derek didn’t push her away. His hands wrapped around her back and he moved them through the water until her back was pressed against the side of the pool. Her feet barely brushed the bottom, and she wrapped her legs around Derek’s hips, shivering as the chill of the air above the water seeped into her wet skin. He pulled away, pushing wet tendrils of her hair off of Allison’s face. She pressed her forehead against his, a slightly hysterical giggle slipping out.

“You know that this might be a terrible idea, don’t you?” He wondered even as he brushed his lips against hers again.

“It could be, but it’s our terrible idea to make. We’ll deal with the fallout from our parents when it happens. But what could they possibly do?” She asked. Derek smirked.

“Your dad could shoot me. All those guns he owns.”

Allison didn’t think it would be that bad, at least she hoped it wouldn’t. The whole threatening with guns deal had been played out with Scott, and he had been genuinely terrified, but that was when she was seventeen. “Gerard is the one you’d have to worry about, but I think you could just outrun him.”

Before he could say anything else, red and blue lights washed over the walls that surrounded the pool. Derek cursed, moving around to hoist himself out of the pool, before reaching down and pulling Allison up out of the water.

“Allison, Derek? You two wanna come out here?” Allison let out a breath of relief when she heard John Stilinski’s voice coming through the gate. It could have been any other cop, but she was glad that it was Stiles’ dad, he would be a bit more lenient with them. At least she hoped.

They grabbed their shoes and slipped out the gate, locking it this time. John was leaning on the hood of his cruiser, arms crossed and the patented unimpressed look that Allison had seen him give Stiles countless times.

“Evening Sheriff!” She said brightly as if she and Derek weren’t standing there dripping water all over the asphalt.

“At least this is better than the last time I found you in this pool,” John came up to them and held out his hand expectantly. “I’d like the keys that my son made you. And don’t give me that innocent Disney princess look, it doesn’t work on me.”

Derek grinned, and Allison narrowed her eyes at him, dropping the keys into the Sheriff’s palm. She didn’t point out that there were more keys out there, she didn’t know what kind of trouble that it could get Stiles into so she just kept quiet.

“Could you not tell my dad about this, please? Or Derek’s mom?” She asked hopefully. He hesitated, and she thought that he would say no.

“You were never here,” he agreed.

“Thank you, Sheriff,” Derek said. John smiled wryly.

“I’m not judging you two. But if you want to go for a dip next time, try Mrs. Caulker’s pool. She’s out of town for the weekend,” he said, clapping Derek on the shoulder. His hand came away wet, and he wrinkled his nose, wiping his hand on his pants leg before turning to get back into his cruiser.

Allison watched as the car packed out of the parking lot and drove away, and she started laughing before she could help herself. She walked over to her car, opening the door and throwing her flip flops on the passenger seat, turning and wringing as much water out of her shirt as she could.

“Someone had to have called it into the police about our cars being here, it’ll be town gossip by lunchtime tomorrow,” Derek said, unlocking his trunk and pulling out a duffel bag.

She started to ask him if that was a problem, but her mouth went dry when she watched him reach back with one and pull off his t-shirt, dropping it onto the trunk with a wet squelch. Her eyes roamed over his bare torso, his shoulders and arms, trying to figure out where the tattoo was. He watched her, a smirk on his face as he unbuttoned his jeans. Allison let out a startled gasp but didn’t turn around. He was wearing briefs, though, and he pulled a dry wife beater and pair of basketball shorts out of the bag and put them on.

He threw her a dry t-shirt, throwing the bag and his wet clothes into the trunk. She stared at him challengingly, before pulling off her shirt and replacing it with the one he gave her. It fell mid-thigh on her, and she wiggled out of her shorts, leaving her in just her boy shorts beneath it. It was better than sitting in all wet clothes for the drive home. She turned to toss her clothes in the floorboard of her car, and when she turned around, Derek was standing right behind her, close enough to touch.

“Let them gossip. Because I, for one, would like to see what this could be before anyone decides for us that we don’t know what we want,” she said, grabbing his face in her hands and kissing him soundly.

He put his hands on the hood of her car, effectively trapping her. “If that’s what you want.”

“It’s what I want. Is it what you want?” She asked, almost afraid of the answer.

“I want,” Derek leaned down, brushing the tip of his nose against hers. It made her smile.  “you to be my date for Laura and Jackson’s wedding.”

The idea of him as her date to the wedding was an unexpected one, but not entirely unwelcome. She was sure that it was going to make people talk, but she didn’t care. Their friends would support them, especially Lydia who pretty much pushed them together in the first place, and their parents would eventually get over it.

“Yeah. Okay, I’ll be your date,” she said, before ducking under his arm and sliding into the driver’s seat of her car. He shut the door for her and turned to go to his car.

On the drive home, she wondered how long it would take her father to call her once everyone started talking about her and Derek.

=

The gossip was minimal, and the fallout was nonexistent. If Talia or Chris knew about anything, they weren’t saying anything. Talia would give him some knowing looks when she thought he wasn’t looking, but other than that they were silent about it. He didn’t know whether to be worried or grateful about that, but Gerard Argent was coming for him in the middle of the night with a shotgun, so he supposed it was alright.

Every night had been spent with Allison; they’d done dinner at her place and dinner at his place, they’d gone to see a terrible werewolf slasher movie at the theatre. They both agreed that taking things slow was the best approach for them, giving themselves time to get to know one another instead of rushing right into everything. He’d honestly never felt as happy before, and he didn’t like comparing the two relationships, but he hadn’t felt like this with Kate. By the end of their marriage, being with Kate felt like a chore, something he couldn’t do right no matter what he did. But everything felt different with Allison; he didn’t feel like he had to prove anything to her.

“Oh my god,” Stiles stood in the open doorway of Allison’ office, and Derek pulled away from Allison, who wiped at her smudged lip gloss and smoothed down her hair. “Is this what it’s gonna be like now? Because I didn’t sign up for this. It’s weird.”

Allison rolled her eyes. “Yeah, because I haven’t walked in on you and Lydia doing much worse.”

“That is completely irrelevant, and we swore never to talk about what you’ve seen. We took a blood oath and everything,” he said. Derek looked back and forth between them, not even wanting to know if Stiles was serious.

“You’re in here for a reason other than being a pest? Because you’re only allowed to do that on Tuesdays,” she said with fond exasperation. Stiles grinned at her, rapping on the door jamb with his knuckles.

“Your two thirty is here and ready to be tortured with a needle,” he said, before leaving the room.

“I should get back over to the shop before Cora decides two customers is one too many and starts yelling at people,” Derek said. Allison smirked.

“You Hales and your social skills,” He scowled at her, before leaning down and kissing her lightly. “I’ll see you tomorrow night for the rehearsal dinner?”

“Yep. We’re going to be in the same room together with your mother. This should be interesting.” She said, shoving her hands in the back pockets of her jeans. Derek sighed, tracing his fingers over one of the roses on her arm.

“It’s gonna be fine. We’re not worried about any fallout, remember?”

“You’re right; I know that you’re right. It’s just been radio silence, and I’m just paranoid. Don’t mind me,” she said, shaking her head.

He got the paranoia, he did. But things were going so well for them so far; he didn’t want to think about it. He kissed her on the side of the head and walked her out to the lobby, saying goodbye and heading back over to the shop. He was surprised to see Laura sitting behind the counter instead of Cora.

“Cora didn’t snap and start punching people, did she?” He asked warily as he came in.

Laura didn’t smile. Instead, she propped her chin up on her hands and watched him. It was a little creepy actually, but he knew his sister well enough to know that something was up, and she wanted to talk to him about it.

“You’re the worst big brother in the world, you know that?” she didn’t laugh after she said it like she usually would have and that just worried him more. “When were you going to tell me about your girlfriend? I had to hear it from mom, who told me not to say anything because you’re ‘not a teenager and free to date whoever he chooses.'”

Derek sighed, walking over and leaning on the counter beside her, nudging his shoulder against hers. She didn’t shift away from him, and he took that as a good sign.

“Maybe I didn’t tell you because of this exact reaction? You’re my sister, and I love you, but it’s still my decision. And you didn’t take my last relationship too well,” he said. Laura turned and punched him in the arm, thankfully not the one that Cora had been hitting him in.

“Okay, Kate was a conniving bitch who almost destroyed you and this family! Don’t you dare count that as a relationship or try to defend her because I’ll—”

“I wasn’t going to defend her!”

“—Slap the hell out of you right now! And as for Allison, I think you are the best thing for her, and her for you and if you do anything to screw it up like let your ex-wife get in the way I’m going to strangle you with my veil on my wedding day and not even care!” She rambled on like Derek hadn’t interrupted, and he grinned at her.

“Most of that was violent gibberish that I didn’t understand,” she opened her mouth to start yelling at him again, but he grabbed her by her shoulders. “But I get the gist of it. Thank you.”

She sighed and pulled him into a hug. “I’m not mad at you for not telling me you’re dating her, not really. Just, be happy okay?”

“Are you guys done with this Kodak moment?” they both turned to see Cora standing there with a takeout bag in her hands. “Because I’m starving.”

Laura and Derek both gave her the same unimpressed look.

=

Allison was seriously reconsidering Natalie’s advice about locking her front door when Lydia walked into her apartment the next afternoon, loaded down with bags. “I didn’t know if you went shopping for a dress to wear tonight, so I brought you options!”

Lydia looked so excited about the idea of the dresses; Allison couldn’t even tell her that she’d just planned to wear one of the many dresses in her closet that hung by her bridesmaid dress. She’d been spending most of her time with Derek, so the idea of being able to make it up to Lydia by trying on dresses wasn’t so bad. Everything was being held at the Hale’s, including the rehearsal and the dinner that would follow, and Allison had to admit that she was a little nervous. She’d been to the house a few times when she was in high school, and she and Cora would study, but this was a completely different scenario.

“So you try these on,” Lydia pushed her into her bedroom with an armful of dresses and a few pairs of heels piled on top. “And I will make us some coffee.”

“Why do I feel like this isn’t only about a dress for tonight?” Allison called after her. Lydia only hummed in response and disappeared into the kitchen, confirming her suspicions.

The dresses were all amazing, and they were all Allison’s style. The first one she slipped into was a retro 50’s style sleeveless dress, white with red and black flowers all over it. She paired it with the black Mary Jane wedges that Lydia had brought, standing in front of the mirror and smoothing down the full skirt. She’d always loved vintage dresses, and it was kind of perfect.

“Okay, we’re done. That’s the dress,” Lydia said as she came into the room, setting the coffee mugs on Allison’s dresser.

Allison turned around to look at her, the skirt twirling around her legs. “But I’ve only tried on the one!”

Lydia grinned triumphantly. “But you look fabulous in that one, and I won’t let you try on any others. I think Derek will like it.”

Allison hadn’t even thought of dressing up for him, but she smiled when she thought of the look that would be on his face when he saw her in the dress. A part of her also wanted to make a good impression on Derek’s family, it was going to be their first time together in front of them, and she wanted it to go as smoothly as possible. She wouldn’t be inviting Derek to a family dinner anytime soon, but his family being okay with them dating would be progress.

“Soooo, how are things going with you two?” Lydia asked, perching on the window seat. Allison knew somehow she was going to get grilled on information about her relationship, but she didn’t mind. She’d spent five years listening to Lydia talk about Stiles; it was about time she had someone of her own to talk about.

“So far, it’s great.” Allison smiled, slipping off the heels and wiggling out of the dress, laying it across the bed. She grabbed the first shirt she saw in the pile of clean laundry, which happened to be Derek’s t-shirt. One of Lydia’s eyebrows rose, and she smiled slowly.

“Is that his shirt? I wasn’t aware that the two of you were on that level yet. I’m offended that you didn’t tell me.” She said with a pout.

Allison picked up her coffee and took a sip, hoping to put off the question but by the look on Lydia’s face, she could tell her that she wasn’t going to let it go that easily. “We’re not there yet.”

“Well, I’m sure when he sees you in that dress, he’ll change his mind,” Lydia said, and the knowing grin on her face made Allison blush a little.

A knock on the front door saved her from the conversation, and the door opened and shut. “Allison?”

Hearing her dad’s voice in the living room made her relax a little. It would be the first time he’d spoken to her since the night she’d cancelled dinner plans, but that wasn’t unusual; she was busy with the shop, and he was busy with his store. They’d gotten used to spending that much time apart; it didn’t affect their relationship like it could have.

“In here!” She called out, hopping into a pair of pajama shorts.

Chris appeared in the doorway, gesturing over his shoulder with a thumb. “When are you going to learn to lock that thing?”

“Hey, Mr. Argent.” Lydia twirled a piece of her hair, giving him her most winning smile. The fact that Lydia had been jokingly flirting with her dad since they were seventeen used to bother Allison, but she eventually got over it.

“Afternoon Lydia,” Chris gestured to the dresses on the bed. “Are you girls getting ready for the wedding rehearsal?”

While Natalie had been invited to the wedding, Chris hadn’t. It probably would have been okay for him to go, but he’d turned down the invitation out of respect for their family, and Allison had been impressed with that. She was sure that Natalie had been torn over the idea, being loyal to her husband or being loyal to her friend a choice she had a hard time making.

“Um yeah. Did you…did you need something?” Allison wondered.

“Lydia, could you give us a minute alone, please?” Chris asked. Allison set down her coffee cup, knowing her dad well enough to know when something was wrong.

“I will be out in the living room with my coffee,” Lydia said, grabbing her cup and leaving the room quickly. Chris pushed the bedroom door behind her.

Allison swallowed hard. “Is everything okay? Is this about me and—”

“No, it’s not about you and Derek, Allison. This is about Kate.”

There was some part of her that knew that she should be happy to hear anything about her aunt, but she was just suddenly filled with overwhelming dread. Because if Kate was coming back to Beacon Hills, it was going to be over for her and Derek. She knew that because if Kate knew that she was with Derek, she was going to have to end it. Or Derek would end it for her. Either way, Kate coming back wasn’t good at all.

“She isn’t staying, but she’s coming to see dad. I’m not going to let—she’s only going to be here for a few days. I just wanted to give you a fair warning so you could let Derek know. I know that this news is going to upset him, and if you want, you don’t have to see her,” he said.

Allison shook her head. “I want to see her, even if it’s just for a little bit. I’ll talk to Derek tonight.”

And now she had another reason not to look forward to the dinner.

=

“A little to the left,” Cora directed for the third time, and Derek grit his teeth and shifted the banner slightly. “No, not your left! Scott’s left. Derek put your side back where it was.”

“Cora, I swear to god!”

“What? Mom told me to make sure the banner was hung straight. That’s what I’m doing,” she said sweetly.

“Then you do it!” He snapped. He didn’t have to look at her to know that she was rolling her eyes at him.

“Now children, if you can’t behave don’t think I won’t make you spend the night in your rooms,” Talia said as she ducked between the two chairs that Scott and Derek were standing on.

Everything was just about set up, Kira and Erica putting the final touches on the dining room. They’d been working on it all day, while Laura and Cora barked orders at all of them. Derek was half tempted to get in his car and drive off, but he was waiting on Allison and Lydia to arrive. He couldn’t just leave Allison alone with his mother, no matter how okay she was with everything.

“Derek, Lydia’s pulling into the driveway, get the door please!” Talia called, and Derek was just glad to be free of the work. He jumped down off of the chair, and Cora stuck her tongue out at him childishly.

Derek opened the front door to find Allison and Lydia standing on the other side ready to knock; one looking anxious and the other with a smile on her face.

“Lydia, lovely as always,” He greeted and she smirked, kissing him on the cheek before disappearing down the hallway. He turned his attention back to Allison. “You look beautiful.”

She smiled weakly. “Thanks. Can we, um, talk before we go to see everyone?”

Assuming it was just her nerves, Derek nodded, pulling her into the house and leading her to the small alcove that was on the other side of the staircase. She was twisting her fingers, something he’d come to see was a nervous habit.

“My dad came by my apartment when we were getting ready,” she said. Derek smirked slightly, hooking his arms around her waist.

“Is he gonna show up here? Because we can slip out the front door before anyone notices we’re gone,” he teased. She swallowed hard, unable to meet his eyes.

“Derek—” He cut her off.

“It’s fine; your dad isn’t going to cause me any actual harm. He and my mom have already talked,” he assured her. Tears started to well up in her eyes, and he frowned in confusion. “Allison?”

“He told me that Kate is coming to Beacon Hills,” she whispered.

Derek let go of her like she’d burned him. Kate wasn’t supposed to set foot in Beacon Hills again, by agreement with Talia and Chris, and Peter had assured him that she wouldn’t come back. Tears slipped down Allison’s face, and he realized that she thought he was angry with her. It was the farthest thing from the truth, but he couldn’t touch her. He felt sick, and he wanted to be able to comfort her, but he couldn’t.

“Why?” He asked hoarsely, and she quickly wiped her hands across her cheeks.

“To visit my grandfather. Dad said she’s not staying for long…that she can’t stay. But I wanted to warn you. I’m sorry…I’m just going to go,” she said, turning to walk away.

She was nearly to the door when Derek snapped himself out of his stupor and went after her. He caught her around the wrist, pulling her back and into his arms. “Please don’t leave. Stay, it’s fine, we’ll work it out.”

“What are we gonna do, Derek? I’m going to have to see her while she’s here, but I’m scared that if I do, I won’t see you anymore,” she said, her voice breaking on a sob.

“Hey, look at me. I’m not going anywhere, okay? But I can’t be around if she’s going to be around you, I’m sorry,” he said as he stroked his fingers through her hair reassuringly. She frowned up at him, not angry, but confused.

“Why?”

“Allison! There you are!” They both turned to see Talia standing there with Laura, and the smiles slid right off of their faces when they saw the state that Allison and Derek were in.  “Is everything alright?”

“Everything’s fine, Mom,” Derek assured her, but Talia didn’t look convinced.

“Why don’t you come with me and I’ll help you fix your makeup?” Laura suggested, stepping up to Allison and taking her hand.

Once they were gone, Derek hoped that his mother wasn’t going to question what she’d just seen, but he should have known better than that. “Derek, what is going on?”

“It’s Kate. She’s going to be in town for a few days to visit Gerard,” he said.

Talia’s jaw clenched, and Derek understood her anger. Short of driving her out of town themselves, there wasn’t much that they could do. Kate had only signed an agreement not to contact the Hale family directly. If she wanted to come and visit her father, that was her right. If Chris wanted to make her leave, however, he could do that too. And judging by what Allison had said, Chris wasn’t going to let his sister stay any longer than necessary.

“What are you going to tell Allison?” She asked. Derek raked his fingers through his hair.

“I don’t know. Maybe I should wait until Kate is gone to explain everything,” he said, even though he had no idea exactly how he was going to explain everything. There was a chance that she wouldn’t even believe anything he had to say.

Talia stepped closer to him. “Derek, do not let that woman ruin your happiness again, do you understand me? I heard what you said to Allison, about not being around her while Kate is here.”

“Then I’ll explain things to Allison sooner; I don’t know. I just wanted to get through today without any problems, and now I find out that my biggest problem is coming back to town? I don’t know how to deal with that!”

She put her hand on his arm, her mouth twisting sympathetically, “You do whatever you need to do, Derek. All you can do is hope that Allison understands when you tell her, whether it’s before or after Kate leaves.”

Derek could only put on a brave face for the party, and hope that his mother was right.

=

Allison had hoped that there wouldn’t be any tension between her and Derek during the dinner, but she could practically see it between them. She could have just waited until after to bring Kate up, but she’d wanted to get it out of the way. Now he was there next to her, but he wasn’t. She saw the way that her friends were acting as well, it was obvious that Talia had told them what was going on. What had Kate done that was so bad that everyone was acting like this? She didn’t know, but she wished that someone would just tell her. She’d believe them; it wasn’t like she thought that Kate was some saint. She was family, at the end of the day, however. That was something that she couldn’t change.

“Do you want to go?” Derek asked her suddenly, and for a minute she thought that he was kicking her out. Then she realized that he meant the two of them together. She nodded quickly and watched him go to say goodbye to Laura and Jackson.

“My son cares about you,” Allison turned around to find Talia standing behind her, a wistful smile on her face. “He’s going to tell you when he can, but Kate’s your family and he wants to respect that despite his past with her.”

“Is it wrong of me not to want her to come back?” Allison asked hesitantly. She felt like a horrible person for thinking it.

“It’s not. You know in your heart that something about her isn’t...quite right. Maybe you two should talk when she comes. Does she know about you two?” Talia wondered.

Allison smiled bitterly. “I’m almost certain my grandfather told her about us. My dad wouldn’t do that.”

“The decision is yours, Allison, but if you don’t see Derek while she’s here, I want you to know right now it’s not because of you. The idea of being anywhere in the same space with her enrages him and terrifies him at the same time. But again, that’s his story to tell,” Talia said, before stepping closer and wrapping her arms around Allison in a quick embrace. Allison was more shocked by the words than the gesture, but she hugged her back all the same.

Derek appeared at her side, wrapping an arm around her waist. “Ready?”

“Yeah,” She smiled at Talia. “Thanks for having me.”

The whole drive to her apartment, Allison played through the different scenarios of how the visit with Kate would go in her head. None of them played out well. Because while Kate had always been like a sister to her when she was growing up, the very idea of her aunt finding out about Derek would probably go over like a lead balloon. It wouldn’t matter to Kate if Allison were happy, all that would matter was that it was Derek Hale, and Kate would most likely see that as some betrayal. And no matter now much Allison would try to convince Kate that she cared about Derek, it probably wouldn’t matter to her at all.

“Are you okay?” Derek asked, and she realized that they were parked outside of her apartment. She took off her seat belt and turned towards him.

“If I asked you to do something for me, would you?”

He didn’t hesitate. “Of course.”

“Will you stay here with me tonight?” That put a look of hesitation on his face, and Allison reached over to squeeze his hand reassuringly. “Kate isn’t supposed to be here for at least a day or two. I don’t expect her to come knocking on my door in the middle of the night.”

A small part of her expected him to say no, and she wouldn’t have blamed him. If he did stay, she wouldn’t question him, not yet. Not until she talked to Kate. Her aunt would have one side of the story, and Derek would have the other. She had a feeling that Kate’s wouldn’t be true because Derek had no reason to lie to her.

“Okay,” he said, and he took off his seat belt.

Allison got out of the car, carrying her heels that she’d slipped off during the drive, and Derek followed her into her building. In the elevator, they stood close to one another, hands brushing against one another as they leaned against the railing. Neither of them spoke, but it was a comfortable silence. When they reached her front door, Allison dug her keys out of her purse. She’d only left the light on above her stove, the rest of the apartment dark, and she dropped her shoes by the door before turning around to look at Derek. He’d pushed the door shut and was leaning against it. She stepped closer to him until they were nearly touching and then reached around him, twisting the lock on the door and putting the chain in place. She stared up at him, his face became more clear in the dark, and she leaned up, pressing her lips to his.

“I’m gonna go change out of this dress,” she said, turning on the lamp beside the couch before disappearing down the hallway. She could hear Derek in the kitchen, making coffee, and it made her smile because he’d only been there a few times and he knew where everything in her kitchen was without asking.

Pushing her bedroom door closed slightly, she stripped out of her dress, tossing it onto the window seat before pulling on a pair of Beacon Hills High School gym shorts and Derek’s t-shirt once again. Allison went into her bathroom and scrubbed off her make up, piling her hair up in a messy bun on top of her head and brushing her teeth to get the leftover taste of dinner out of her mouth. She found Derek still in the kitchen when she left her bedroom, sitting at her kitchen table with two steaming mugs of coffee in front of him.

“I don’t know how you can drink your coffee with that much sugar,” he said, shaking his head. Allison bit her bottom lip to keep her smile off of her face. He’d even memorized how to make her coffee.

“Sorry, we can’t all be boring and drink our coffee black and bitter,” she teased, and Derek scowled at her, before wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her onto his lap.

Even though questions were gnawing at her, Allison let herself be distracted. His hands were warm where they edged beneath her t-shirt and pressed against her skin, and she leaned closer, brushing her lips across his. She reached for his tie, undoing the knot and tugging it from around his neck. Fingers digging into her hips, he pulled her flush against him, his tongue licking into her mouth. They kissed until they had to part for air, Allison’s knee knocking against the table and causing coffee to slosh over the side of the mugs that still sat untouched.

He smiled slightly, and she could see the silent question in his eyes. She nodded her consent, wanting nothing more than to be closer to him. Without a word, Derek stood up with Allison still in his arms, hands hooked beneath her thighs. She let out an indignant squeak, wrapping her legs around his waist and laughing into the crook of his neck as he carried her down the hallway to her bedroom, kicking the door closed behind them.

=

He forgot where he was the next morning when he woke up until he looked down and saw Allison half sprawled over his chest, her hair in her eyes and the sunlight pouring in through her bedroom window. Gently untangling himself from her grasp without waking her, Derek pulled on his clothes and picked up his cell phone from where it had somehow ended up half beneath her bed. He found a notepad on top of her dresser, and he scribbled her a quick note to let her know he was going to buy breakfast, leaving it on the pillow beside her before slipping out the bedroom door and out of the apartment.

There was a Starbucks not even ten minutes away from her apartment, and Derek decided to walk. He couldn’t help but look around as if he expected Kate Argent to pop up right in front of him, that slow grin on her face that he’d come to hate. A part of him was glad that Allison had told him about Kate’s visit, that way he had a little bit of warning, but now he felt almost paranoid. It wasn’t fair to Allison, he knew that, but it was something that had become a part of who he was long before their divorce.

He saw Peter’s car in the parking lot of Starbucks and almost went back to Allison’s apartment just to avoid him, but then he saw Peter coming out of the coffee shop, holding open the door for Jennifer Blake and Malia. His cousin spotted him, and he knew there was no turning back.

“Well well, is this a walk of shame, nephew?” Peter asked with a smug look, and Malia rolled her eyes.

“Gross,” she muttered but smirked at him all the same.

Derek glared at him. “I’m just getting us coffee,” He shoved his hands into his pockets, knowing what he was about to do was a mistake, but it was something that had been nagging him since dinner the night before. Longer than that, if he was being honest with himself. “I need a favor.”

Peter’s eyebrow rose, because the last time Derek wanted a favor from him, it was to be his attorney for the divorce. “I’ll meet you ladies at the car.”

Derek and Peter walked over to the row of tables outside of the coffee shop, sitting down across from one another. Derek realized that what he was about to ask was an incredible invasion of privacy, but he needed to know. Because on his second date with Allison, she’d mentioned offhandedly that Kate had helped her get the tattoo shop started. After she’d said it, she immediately changed the subject, but it had stuck with Derek.

“I want you to look into The Silver Arrow, and the deposit put down on the building. I need to know if...” He glanced up from staring at the table top to see that his uncle had was the entire family called his ‘lawyer face’ on.

“You want to know if Kate paid for the building with the money that she stole from us?” Peter asked coolly, and Derek sucked in a shaky breath at just hearing it out loud.

“Allison doesn’t know,” he said, and Peter looked skeptical.

“But what if she does?”

Derek leveled him with such a hard look that he looked apologetic and put up his hands in a placating gesture. Peter meant well; he was only looking out for his family, but Derek knew there was no way that Allison could have known. She wasn’t the type of person that could just accept stolen money. And Kate loved Allison, which was something Derek never really understood because Kate didn’t love anything but herself.

“I’ll look into it, and I’ll get back to you. What are you going to do if you find out that it was?” Peter wondered, sipping his latte. But that wasn’t a question that Derek was willing to answer.

He expected Allison to be awake when he got back to her apartment, letting himself in with the spare key that sat above the door frame, but she was still sound asleep in her bed. She was stretched out on her stomach; sheets pooled at her hips and arms tucked beneath her pillow, the ink that graced her back on fully display. Setting the coffee carrier down, Derek sat on the edge of the mattress, running his finger over one of the moon phases that ran down her spine. She twitched beneath his touch, lifting her head off of the pillow and smiling sleepily.

“Do you know what I just realized?” She asked, shoving her hair out of her face and sitting up, not bothering to pull the sheet around herself. “I didn’t get a good enough look at your tattoo last night.”

Derek’s mouth twisted knowingly, and Allison blushed.

“Did you want to?” He wondered, voice teasing.

He undid the buttons on his shirt, shrugging it off and tossing it over the end of the bed. Allison scooted closer, tracing the swirls of the black triskelion that was tattooed between his shoulder blades. She propped her chin up on his shoulder, smiling at him.

“I like it. Ever think about getting more?” She laughed, shaking her head and pulling back. “Sorry, that’s the tattoo artist in me talking.”

“I’m not exactly against the idea,” He leaned in and kissed her. “Our coffee’s gonna get cold.”

Allison slipped off the bed, grabbing Derek’s shirt and pulling it on before disappearing into the bathroom.

=

Allison spent the whole weekend on edge, waiting for a text message or a phone call from Kate. She hadn’t seen Derek since the morning after the rehearsal dinner, even though he was right next door. He was sticking to what he’d said about Kate, and she had to respect it. That didn’t mean she liked it, but she couldn’t exactly blame him. Whatever Kate had done had messed him up, and she was hoping to get the answers she wanted soon. There were only a few more days until the wedding, and Allison also hoped that Kate would have come and gone by then. But as far as she knew, Kate still wasn’t in Beacon Hills yet.

She kept herself busy, meeting with clients and setting up appointments. She went to dinner with her dad and Natalie, her grandfather oddly absent. Scott even convinced her to go bowling with him, Stiles and Lydia. None of them brought Kate up to her, but she knew that they’d all talked about her impending visit. Allison started to feel like even though things seemed normal, she was being left out of the loop.

Despite everything going on, she still had to make a visit to the cemetery to put flowers on her mother’s grave. It meant going into the flower shop, but she knew for a fact that Derek was working the afternoon shift. If he was in there, she wasn’t going to avoid him actively. But his Camaro was absent from the parking lot when she pulled in, and she was a little disappointed. When she walked into the shop, she didn’t see anyone sitting behind the counter. Allison looked around but didn’t see anyone. And then she heard the yelling, coming from the greenhouse. Curiosity got the best of her, and she slowly crept towards the door that separated the shop from the greenhouse.

“...know that you had no right coming back here!” She heard Laura’s voice first, and she peered through one of the small windows on the door.

Laura had her back to the door, and Allison couldn’t see who she was talking to first. And then she shifted to the side, and Allison saw her aunt’s face.

“Sorry sweetheart, you and your little family don’t get to control me right now. Extenuating circumstances let me out of that deal, remember?” Kate asked, a little smirk on her face.

Laura spun around angrily, and Allison made sure to step back so that she wouldn’t be seen. She thought that Laura would come through the door, but she turned back to look at Kate again.

“Extenuating circumstances, my ass! I don’t know what like you and your twisted father are feeding everyone so that you can come back here and visit, but you better be gone by my wedding, Kate. And you better stay the hell away from my brother and―”

Kate laughed. “And what? You were going to add onto that. Were you going to tell me to stay away from my niece? Because you know, that isn’t going to happen.”

Allison knew that she should have just walked away or made her presence known, but she couldn’t help it. There was a chance that either Kate or Laura could slip up and say something about the real reason no one wanted Kate in Beacon Hills, and she wasn’t going to miss that.

“Allison is doing well, Kate. Do you want to ruin that? Because you being here is the fastest way to that and you know it,” Laura said. For a moment, Kate looked ruffled, but she quickly gained her composure again.

“You know, you’re awfully invested in Allison’s well being. Why are you having this conversation with me instead of Derek?” Kate wondered, crossing her arms over her chest.

Laura got into Kate’s personal space, and Allison thought that she was going to hit her. “Derek isn’t here having this conversation with you because the thought of being a room with you terrifies him. Not because he’s scared of you, but he’s scared of what he’ll do. After what you did to him, to us, what the hell makes you think that we won’t still ruin you?”

Allison wanted to know what the hell that meant; she wanted to barge in there and demand that both of them answer all of her questions. But a hand on her shoulder stopped her, and she managed not to scream as she turned around to find Cora standing there, a stern look on her face. Without a word, she pulled her away from the door and led her towards Talia’s office. Cora pushed Allison inside and closed the door behind them.

“You aren’t supposed to be here,” Cora said quietly, and Allison put her hands on her hips.

“Technically, I’m not supposed to be around Derek right now. Why is my aunt talking to your sister? What the hell is going on, Cora?”

She gave her a look that Allison had seen on Derek’s face countless times already, one of absolute impatience and one that suggested that she should have just gotten her flowers and left. Because Cora wasn’t going to tell her anything, and her silence just confirmed that.

“Alright, fine. I’m going to go. Could you tell your brother to come by my shop tonight, please? I know she’s here, but I want to talk to him before I see her,” Allison said.

Cora looked like she wanted to tell her that she wouldn’t do that, but instead, she only nodded her head.

Allison made sure to slip out of the shop before either Kate or Laura saw her.

=

According to the sign on the door of The Silver Arrow, the shop had closed thirty minutes ago. Allison’s car wasn’t to be seen, but when Derek walked up to the door, she was waiting for him.

“I didn’t want it to look like I was here,” she said by way of explanation when she let him inside.

Derek understood what she meant; she didn’t want Kate to come looking for her there. Which meant that she knew something was going on, and she wanted answers.

“Have you seen her yet?” He asked, fearing the worst.

She shook her head, turning and walking past the receptionist desk. Derek could only follow as she led him into the room that she and Brett shared for their station.

“Is this the part where you tell me that if I don’t tell you why she and I got divorced that you and I are done? Because I didn’t come here for an ultimatum, Allison,” Derek said.

Allison didn’t look hurt by his words. Instead she picked up a file folder and handed it to him. “I didn’t bring you here for that; I brought you here for this.”

Derek opened the folder, looking at what was inside it. It was a drawing of a howling wolf with the full mood and a forest silhouette, a few sweeping swirls curling up around the edges like smoke. She’d drawn it for him. On more than one occasion he’d seen her hide her sketchbook when he came close, and this was the reason why. She’d drawn it for him, and she wanted to tattoo it on him.

“You can say no, or tell me you don’t like it,” she said, reaching to take the folder back because he wasn’t saying anything.

Derek held it over his head, out of her reach. “Where would you put it?”

Allison stepped into his personal space, and he could smell the Japanese cherry blossom perfume that she always wore. Her fingers curled around his left forearm.

“What do you think of here? On the inside,” she suggested.

“Okay,” he agreed.

She smiled, bright and happy, and leaned up to kiss him. It oddly felt like that night outside of Sinema, except this time he wasn’t pushing her away. He pulled her closer, fingers sliding along her jawline into her hair. Pulling away, Allison snatched the folder out of his hand with a tiny grin.

“Okay, into the chair you go. I’m gonna set everything up,” she instructed.

Derek had never watched Allison tattoo someone, but there was something a little entrancing about watching her set out the inks and put together the tattoo gun. She threw her hair up into a messy bun, snapped on a pair of hot pink latex gloves and prepped the area on his arm that she was going to put the tattoo; cleaning it with rubbing alcohol, shaving it and cleaning it again. When she grabbed a stick deodorant from her table, Derek raised an eyebrow.

“It makes the stencil show up better. Here, watch,” she murmured, pressing the stencil transfer that she’d already had ready in the folder with the drawing to his skin. She smoothed it down with the deodorant and then peeled the paper away.

His eyes widened a little when he saw the stark bluish lines on his skin; it felt like the tattoo belonged there. She picked up the tattoo gun, dipping the needles into the ink, and looked up at him.

“This is gonna hurt,” she warned with a tiny grin.

“I’ve done this before,” he reminded her.

The first touch of the needles made his skin go all hot, and it did hurt, but the pain was manageable. The first time he’d done this, Laura had been by his side, watching his face contort in pain. He’d been eighteen, and the tattoo artist had been a big guy named Drake. Not nearly as pretty as Allison. Now, he watched her work; bottom lip pulled into her mouth in concentration. Neither of them said anything; Derek was torn between watching her face and watching the tattoo take form.

Derek’s foot had fallen asleep, and he was pretty sure that the twinge he was feeling in his lower back was from being in the chair too long, but Allison finished up the shading and wiped the tattoo down before bandaging it, and pulling herself up off the stool.

“Do you need me to go over the aftercare instructions for you?” She asked softly, and Derek realized rather suddenly that he wasn’t going to see her for a few days one Kate made her appearance.

He shook his head, “I remember from last time; it’s okay,”

Allison pulled the latex gloves off of her hands, throwing them in the trashcan, “Whenever you’re ready to talk to me about this, Derek, I’m not going to push you. But I think that I should see Kate first,”

“So you can get her side of the story first, right?” he asked, unable to help himself. It wasn’t fair, and he knew it.

“I was thinking more along the lines of telling her that she isn’t going to be able to break us up no matter what she has to say,” Allison said.

Derek smiled sadly, “You don’t know that.”

Because he knew Kate, and he already knew that Kate was going to do everything she could to make herself look like a victim in Allison’s eyes. Allison was probably one of the only people who would believe Kate’s lies because she wasn’t there to see what Kate had done to Derek and his family.

“Hey,” Allison put herself back into his personal space again, except this time Derek could see anger in her eyes, “I’m a big girl, Derek, and I can think for myself. Kate doesn’t get to dictate who I see and who I don’t. No matter what your past is with her, there are two sides to every story, and I’m not just going to accept hers as truth.”

He wanted to ask her what would make her accept his as truth, but he didn’t. He just nodded silently, accepting that he would at the very least stand a chance.

“And another thing,” She jabbed her finger into his chest, but she was fighting back a smile, “I need a ride home. I had Scott drop me off.”

Derek wasn’t going to say no. He watched as she cleaned everything up, and didn’t miss how she looked around warily as they left the shop and she locked the door. It wasn’t that she was ashamed to be seen with him, he understood that. She just wasn’t ready for the inevitable confrontation that was going to happen.

“I’m stealing this,” Allison said as she picked up his leather jacket off of the passenger seat and put it on. It was too big on her, but she wrapped herself up in it and sank into the passenger seat.

=

Allison knew that they were tempting fate, so to speak, but she didn’t care. She hadn’t lied when she told Derek that she didn’t care what Kate was going to have to say about their relationship, she wasn’t going to avoid her boyfriend just because her aunt and the Hale family had a bad past. Instead, she invited him inside.

“She doesn’t know your car,” she reminded him as if she needed to give him a reason to stay. But he didn’t look conflicted about staying. He followed her into the apartment, and she made sure to lock the door behind them.

“Did you eat dinner?” Derek asked. It was almost eleven, and Allison realized that she hadn’t. She’d had back to back appointments all night, and Boyd had bought sandwiches, but she’d never got around to eating it.

“I’m pretty sure there’s a sandwich in the fridge at the shop that has my name on it,” she said, shrugging out of Derek’s jacket and tossing it over the back of her reading chair.

“I could make us something if you want,” he offered. Allison couldn’t say no to that.

Since they began dating, she’d been keeping her freezer and refrigerator better stocked. She was perfectly capable of cooking, but she had a habit of making the quickest and easiest meals. Derek loved to cook a lot more than she did, and he was really good at it. She helped, chopping mushrooms and peppers for the chicken vegetable stir fry that he was making. They split a glass of wine, talking about their work week as they cooked. Allison realized something as Derek was telling her about the elderly woman who had to smell every flower that they had before she would buy anything.

She was in love with him.

As easy as it would have been to blur out those three little words right then and there, Allison knew that she should wait. It had only been a few weeks, and while she knew that Derek could very easily feel the same way, she wanted to wait for the right moment. And more importantly, she wanted to wait until after her aunt was out of Beacon Hills.

They were in the middle of washing the dishes when the knock came at the front door. Allison very nearly dropped the plate in her hand, while Derek cut off the water. They both stood there for a minute, frozen, before he finally moved. He handed her the dish towel to try her hands.

“I can wait in your room?” he suggested because they both already knew who was at the door. And short of climbing out the window and shimmying down the drainage pipe that ran down the apartment’s outside wall, Derek had no other way out.

“Okay,” she breathed, giving him an apologetic look because she could have just ignored the door. But Kate wasn’t going to go away, and it was best just to get it over with.

There was another series of knocks on the door, and Allison waited until Derek was down the hall and she heard the soft click of her bedroom door shutting. Taking a deep breath, she went over to her front door, turning the the lock and then turning the knob. Kate stood on the other side of the door, and Allison realized that she looked nothing like the woman that she’d seen arguing with Laura in the greenhouse.

“Aren’t you gonna let me in?” Kate asked with a smile, and Allison’s knuckles went white against the doorjamb because she was fighting the urge to shut it.

“Sure, come in,” She stepped aside to let Kate inside, shutting the door.

She hadn’t seen her aunt since the grand opening for The Silver Arrow, and she had assumed that the absence had been due to her being busy with work. But now she understood that it had something to do with Derek, and whatever had happened during their marriage.

“How have you been?” Allison asked, and it sounded lame even to her. But Kate didn’t notice; she was too busy looking around the apartment. Allison was aware of the framed photos that sat on her bookcase and her desk, photos of her and Derek. But it was Derek’s leather jacket that Kate’s eyes landed on.

“Oh you know, the job is my life. I thought it would be good to see dad...for the weekend. I was going to come by the shop, but your dad said you were booked,” Kate said as she ran her fingers lightly over the sleeve of the jacket.

Allison fought the urge to grit her teeth. Inside, she was wondering how she hadn’t noticed this about Kate before, how she was. Maybe she’d just been blind to it all, especially after her mother died.

“I was. The shop is doing well,” she crossed her arms almost defensively. “I’m happy to see you Kate, but it’s been a long day, and I was getting ready to go to bed. Maybe we could get lunch tomorrow and catch up?”

The corner of Kate’s mouth twitched up, “Sure sweetie. But should we talk about the fact that you’re sleeping with my ex husband now?”

Allison’s mouth fell open in shock, and for a moment she felt like she couldn’t breathe. Kate had never treated her like a kid, often being the voice of reason between her and her parents when they were arguing. But now she was being cruel. And Allison saw it then, what everyone else saw hidden underneath the little mask of nice that she put on.

“No, we’re not going to talk about it, because it’s none of your business,” Allison said, surprised by the annoyance in her voice.

“Oh Ally, I’m only worried about the past repeating itself. Pretty girl, a guy who isn’t what he seems. Sound familiar?” Kate wondered.

“I’m nothing like you!” Allison blurted out angrily, and one of Kate’s eyebrows went up. “And Derek, he’s not like you say. I lo- I like him, Kate. What’s so wrong with me liking him?”

The fact that Derek was in her bedroom, listening to all of this without Kate knowing, made her feel a little better. She wanted him to know that she was defending him, defending their relationship. She wasn’t going to let Kate stand there and talk to her like that, family or not. She sure as hell didn’t take it from Gerard when he went on his tirades about how the Hale family was out to ruin them.

“You’ve had a long day,” Kate agreed, completely ignoring Allison’s question, “Why don’t we get lunch tomorrow like you said? We have a few things to talk about,”

Allison only nodded her head, walking over to the door and opening it. No hugs were exchanged, and nothing else was said. Kate walked out the door, and Allison pushed it closed, turning the lock and putting on the chain for good measure. She turned around as Derek came out of her bedroom.

“Do you want me to go?” he asked quietly, reaching for his jacket.

She shook her head, “Stay, please. We should talk now,”

Her voice was pleading, she didn’t want to let him go. There was a good chance if he walked out that door, he wasn’t going to come back for a while. She didn’t want that. She wanted to know what he knew, that way she could be prepared for whatever Kate would have to say tomorrow.

“Okay. Do you want to make us some coffee? This could take a while,” he said, and Allison nodded her head, going into the kitchen.

=

Derek knew it was probably stupid, but he didn’t want to be in the living room where Kate had just been. But Allison understood. Instead of sitting in the living room, they went into Allison’s bedroom and sat on the window bench.

“Your family has money,” Derek started, and Allison smiled slightly over the rim of her coffee cup.

“Yeah, so does yours. More than mine, I think,” she said.

Derek nodded, “Probably. But what you don’t know is that Kate didn’t have money like your dad. Chris had a business and Kate had Gerard as a personal ATM anytime she needed money.”

It was something that Kate was constantly bitter about and something that she and Derek fought about; Derek’s family had money, and Kate’s brother had money, but she wasn’t above running to her dad with a sob story to get a good amount of cash for herself. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t.

“She always insisted that we didn’t need to share, that the money she got from her dad was being put away so that we wouldn’t have to dip into the trust that I had from my father. I believed her, but I still put her name on my accounts just in case,” Derek paused to take a drink of his coffee. “I shouldn’t have,”

Allison sat up a little straighter, “She stole your money?”

“One hundred and seventeen thousand dollars, withdrawn from my account the day before she filed for divorce. But My account wasn’t the only one she got her hands on. She also got fifty thousand out of one of the business account for the flower shop, that my name was on. By the time anyone realized what she’d done, she was gone,” Derek explained.

She just stared at him, but there wasn’t doubt in her eyes. Derek was counting that as a win. He’d expected that she might question what he was telling her, or claim that Kate would never do that, but he was pretty sure that the conversation she had with Kate had ruined any illusions that Allison had about her aunt.

“And because her name was added to your accounts, they didn’t notify you of the amounts being withdrawn?” Allison guessed. He nodded, and she reached over and squeezed his hand.

“Peter found the discrepancy, but Kate already had lawyers in place. She denied taking the money, and there was no proof of her having the money in any account with her name. To dig the knife in a little deeper, she went around her lawyers and demanded payments, or else she would give her lawyers proof of spousal abuse. It wasn’t true, but it wasn’t that hard to doctor photos,”

He’d been making the payments for two years, using money out of one designated account to do so. Peter wanted to hire someone to steal the fake evidence that Kate had, but Derek already knew that Kate had more than one copy and was just as likely to release them for spite. What they needed was evidence that Kate stole the money in the first place.

“I had no idea that Kate was like this, Derek. She was always different with me than she was with everyone else, and I never saw it. I’m sorry,” Allison shook her head, taking his empty mug from him and standing up. She started to leave the room, but stopped, turning around to look at him. He could see the realization forming on her face, “Kate gave me money to help open the shop.”

She had just confirmed what he already knew; that Allison had no idea where Kate had gotten the money that she gave her to open The Silver Arrow. If she had, she wouldn’t have been so surprised about Kate stealing the money. Unlike her aunt, Derek had learned that Allison couldn’t lie to save her life.

“I know. I had Peter look into it. I was going to tell you after Kate was gone, but I didn’t know how. I never thought you knew about it, though,” He promised.

She sat the coffee cups on the dresser, walking over to him and sitting on his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her forehead to his, “It’s okay,”

“You’re being understanding about this. Kate’s your family, I thought you might have at least the smallest doubt,” he said as he pulled back to look at her.

Allison shrugged her shoulders, “It makes sense. Why my dad doesn’t want her in town, why everyone whispers about her like she’s evil or something. Turns out she kind of is,” she said bitterly.

He didn’t want her to feel bad about not realizing how Kate was; that wasn’t why he told her the truth. “Hey, we’re okay?”

“Of course,” she smiled softly and kissed him, “but tomorrow I’m going to talk to my aunt, and I’m going to play dumb,”

Derek frowned, “What do you mean?”

“I’m going to pretend that you’ve told me nothing. Maybe she’ll slip up and tell me something,” she explained. It wasn’t exactly a bad idea, but Derek wondered if Kate would fall for it.

“She won’t give it up easily,” he said.

It wouldn’t be easy to get the truth out of Kate, but if anyone could do it, Allison could. She was smart, and if it were possible, she would be able to twist things around so that Kate finally spilled the truth.

“Do you want to stay here tonight?” Allison asked suddenly.

Derek knew there was no chance of Kate coming back that night, and nodded. “I’ll stay.”

“Good, because I need you here tonight,” she whispered before leaning in to kiss him.

=

“I’m not sure you should go,” Chris said the next day when Allison stopped by the armory. She filled him in on what was going on, unsurprised that her father already knew all about it. But she left out the part where she was going to get information out of Kate. “Kate...she’s not taking your relationship with Derek very well. I overheard her and dad talking last night when she got back to the house.”

But Allison had expected as much, “I’m just going to talk to her and make it clear that she won’t be able to break us up,”

“I’m sorry, Allison. I know that I should have told you how Kate was, but you two got along so well and she was so different with you, I thought it was best to leave it,” Chris said.

“I’m pretty sure me dating Derek Hale probably threw a wrench into a lot of things, right?” Chris rolled his eyes and Allison smiled, leaning over to hug him. “It’s okay, dad,”

“Derek makes you happy; I have no problems with him. Or any of the other Hale’s,” he said as if she didn’t know that already.

Allison’s cell phone vibrated across the sales counter, and they both glanced down at it. It was a message from Kate, saying that she was at the bistro down the street waiting. Huffing out a sigh, Allison stuffed her cell phone in the back pocket of her jeans.

“Time to go face dear Auntie Kate. I’ll let you know how it goes,” she said before hugging him again and leaving the store.

She left her car in the parking lot of the armory, instead walking the few blocks. It gave her time to think of what she might say to Kate. There was a good chance that Kate would catch on to Allison’s game pretty quick, so she already had a backup plan in place for that. But she felt confident that Kate would say something that was going to give away the truth.

The bistro was busy with the normal lunch time rush when Allison walked through the doors, but she recognized Kate’s blonde hair in a booth in the back. Slipping past a few customers who were waiting in line to pay their checks, she dropped down onto the bench across from her.

“Hey sweetie, have you tried the milkshakes here? They are the best thing ever!” Kate said by way of greeting, and for a minute, Allison felt like everything was normal between them, like those times that Kate would visit her when she was away at school.

Allison cleared her throat to get over that feeling, thankful to see a waitress coming towards them. “No thanks, I’ll stick with water,”

Kate pouted, “Okay then, I am going to have a chocolate milkshake and a BLT.”

“And for you?” the waitress asked as she scribbled down Kate’s order.

“Can I get a chicken caesar salad and a glass of water please?” She asked. The waitress wrote that down too, told them she’d be back with their drinks, and then disappeared back the way she came.

Allison grabbed one of the wrapped straws from the little dispenser on the table, tearing off the paper. She could feel Kate’s gaze on her, but stared at the table top instead.

“I’m sorry about last night, that wasn’t exactly how I wanted to deal with this situation,” Kate said finally.

“It’s not a situation, Kate. Derek and I are in a relationship. You’re going to have to learn to deal and respect that,” Allison told her.

Kate scoffed, and Allison finally looked at her. There was an apologetic look on her aunt’s face, but it was fake. The waitress brought their drinks, unaware of the tension at the table. Kate opened her straw, jamming it into the milkshake almost dramatically.

“I’m only speaking for your well being, Allison. You’ve only known Derek a few weeks, and I’m not sure what he told you about our marriage--”

Allison cut her off, “We don’t discuss his past with you,”

She made sure to sound convincing enough that Kate would believe her, and it seemed to have worked. Kate leaned back in the booth, staring at her consideringly for a moment. She could see that she wasn’t ruffling Allison at all, not like she had the night before.

“I’ve never coddled you before Allison, and I’m not going to do it now. You’re making a mistake, and I won’t be around to pick up the pieces when he leaves you,” Kate said.

If she was trying to make Allison feel bad for dating Derek, it wasn’t working. She was only making Allison angier, and she was making it more likely that Allison was just going to get up and walk out.

“I get that it might be a little strange because you two used to be married. Okay, maybe a lot strange. Lifetime movie strange. But there isn’t anything you can say that will make me change my mind about him,” Allison said.

Their food arrived, but Allison could feel her appetite going out the window. All she wanted to do was go home and curl up in her bed with Derek and forget that Kate ever came back to town.

Kate must have taken what she’d said as a challenge, “You’re going to lose the shop,”

Allison’s fork clattered onto her plate noisily, and people turned to look at her. “So, what? You’re going to make me give up the shop or Derek? Is that it?”

She started to get up and leave, but Kate quickly caught her arm and pulled her back. Not wanting to make a scene, Allison slid back into the booth but sat her cell phone on the table. She wanted to have it right there in case she needed to call her dad. Because Kate had just threatened her shop, and there was no way that she was going to take that. Chris would drive Kate right out of town if Allison asked.

“That’s not what I’m saying. Obviously, I can’t change your relationship with him. But you should know something about the money that I gave you to help get The Silver Arrow up and running,” Kate said.

The confusion on Allison’s face was fake, “What? Did you rob a bank or something?”

“Or something,” Kate hesitated, taking a bite out of her sandwich and chewing slowly. She didn’t realize the that Allison was impatiently waiting for an answer. Finally, she swallowed the food and leaned forward, “It’s Hale money.”

And there it was. She knew no matter what she would be able to get the truth out of Kate. Her aunt had a way of not being able to hold in secrets around her. There was a time when she’d appreciated that when Kate would make her feel like an adult because she shared all of her gossip with her. But Allison knew she was only telling her about the money belonging to the Hale family as some ploy to get Allison to leave Derek, whether she would admit to it or not.

“Wait, if you took the money from the Hale family, and gave it to me for the building, that makes me an accomplice to the theft!” Allison hissed, trying not to be overheard.

She and Derek had already talked about it the night before; he had never believed that she’d known about the money, and he would get Peter to try and figure out a way to make sure that Allison was never implicated in anything because she was unaware of where the money had come from. She was glad, losing the tattoo shop would probably ruin her.

“How do you think he’s going to feel when he finds out that you know about the money now? It won’t matter that you didn’t know when I gave it to you. All that will matter is that his stolen money bought your shop,” Kate said with a dismissive shrug.

Allison had to leave or else she was going to ruin it. Or she was was going to reach across the table and slap her aunt; she couldn’t decide which. Grabbing her cell phone, she got out of the booth.

“I get it now. You can’t be with him, so no one can, right? Have a nice visit with Gerard, Kate. I kind of hope I never see you again,” she said before she stormed out of the bistro.

Kate didn’t follow her or attempt to call her, and Allison kept walking until she felt she was far away from the bistro to be able to breathe normally again. She dropped down on the first bench that she came to, looking down at her cell phone. The recorded conversation was there, starting from when she tried to get up and leave the first time until she left the second time. And Kate had no idea that she was being recorded because she was too busy trying to rile Allison up. Allison listened to it again to make sure she had all she needed.

Now, she just had to give it to Derek.

=

“Patience is a virtue, nephew,” Peter reminded Derek. They were sitting in Derek’s loft, waiting for Allison to finish up her lunch date with Kate, “If something had gone wrong, I’m sure that Allison would have called you.”

“You’re not helping,” Derek muttered. He only had Peter over because Allison had said that she would try to get anything she could out of Kate, and with Peter being his lawyer it was best to give him whatever information they could. Plus, sitting in his loft alone and brooding wasn’t exactly counterproductive.

Peter shrugged innocently, “I’m just saying, you’re about to wear a hole in the carpet. You’ve been pacing by the windows for almost thirty minutes,”

Derek stopped pacing and glared at him. His uncle only rolled his eyes and put his hands up in self defense. It wasn’t like Peter was wrong. Even though he and Allison had talked the night before, there was still a tiny part of him that was afraid that Kate was going to get through to her.

“You need a television; this is nerve wracking,” Peter said, now sounding like he was the impatient one.

Derek grit his teeth, “You have a television at home, don’t you?”

The sound of the loft door rolling open caused them both to fall silent. Allison stood in the entryway for a moment, staring at them like she had interrupted something before she pulled the door closed behind her.

“So, that officially made its way to the top of the list of things that I never want to do again,” she said, momentarily ignoring Peter. She walked right over to Derek and wrapped her arms around his torso, burrowing her face into his chest.

“Is your aunt still as vexing as ever?” Peter wondered.

Allison scoffed into the fabric of Derek’s shirt, “Apparently so,”

Derek rubbed his hands up and down her back soothingly, tempted to kick Peter out and let Allison get some quiet time after having to deal with Kate. But he knew that she would rather get whatever happened out of the way.

“How did it go?” he asked her quietly. When she pulled back to look at him, there were tears in her eyes.

“She admitted it. I recorded everything she said about it,” she said, and this caught Peter’s attention.

“May I see your phone please, Allison?” He asked, getting up from the couch.

Allison took out her cell phone and played the message for them. She was right; Kate had admitted that the money that was used to purchase the building for The Silver Arrow was stolen Hale money. At the very least, it was a place to start. It could be proof enough to begin another investigation into Kate. And they had a contingency plan in place, in case Kate decided to try and drag Allison down with her. Although the recording might be evidence enough to keep her out of it. Peter had her send him a copy of the recording and made her sign a paper that said that she had obtained the recording for the purpose of helping the Hale family.

When he finally left them alone, Allison curled up on the sofa, wrapping herself in the fleece blanket that was draped across the back while Derek made her some hot tea. She was quiet, and a bit distant, but he understood why. He didn’t push her to talk any more about what had happened at lunch, but he could imagine.

“The wedding is next week,” she said when he brought over her tea.

He sat down beside her, “It is. Are you gonna be my date to the wedding?”

“Hmm, pretty sure Scott’s the one I’m walking down the aisle with,” She countered.

“Only because I have to give away the bride,” he said, and she smiled brightly. That was what he was hoping for, that she would smile for him.

“Well, after the wedding, I’m all yours,” She offered, and Derek wouldn’t say no to that at all.

After she drank her tea, Allison turned her cell phone and snuggled up to Derek’s side. He knew that she hadn’t slept much the night before, so when she fell asleep with her head on his chest, the fleece blanket tucked up under her chin and her hair in her eyes, he didn’t bother to wake her.

=

Allison didn’t see Kate again. A part of her thought that her aunt would try to contact her before she left Beacon Hills, but she didn’t. Peter hired someone to keep tabs on her while the case was built against her. There was still a good chance that Kate would attempt to release the photos that she’d made, but as far as they knew she’d gone back to her life, oblivious that it was all going to be pulled away from her as soon as they had enough evidence.

She took Gerard with her, and that was something everyone was glad for. Apparently, Chris had insisted on it, finally deciding that having his father living in the same house as him, and even in the same town, had become too much. Both Chris and Natalie seemed to be happier with Gerard out of the picture. The weekly dinners were still going to be a mandatory thing, but now Derek was invited to them.

Laura and Jackson’s wedding day arrived, and the Hale house once again came to life with all of their friends and family gathered for the ceremony. It was supposed to rain, but Laura was still adamant about having the ceremony in the back yard, weatherman be damned. Allison had spent the morning in an overstuffed chair in Laura’s childhood bedroom, watching as Kira and Lydia helped Laura with her veil, while Laura griped at Cora about taking too many pictures. Talia had given Allison a knowing smile while she fixed her makeup. Laura hadn’t even been in her wedding dress for twenty minutes before Talia started crying.

Apparently, the weatherman hadn’t been wrong, Laura and Jackson had barely finished saying their vows before the first few raindrops began to fall. Still, Laura refused to move until they were married, cursing mother nature in between saying “I do.” Once the pastor pronounced them husband and wife, everyone immediately started rushing inside before the rain got to heavy. Allison helped Cora hand out towels.

The night moved so fast after that; toasts were made, and the cake was cut. Derek gave a speech that made just about everyone cry, and he and Allison danced to a few songs before she gave up and kicked off her heels. Before she knew it, it was time for the bouquet toss, something she had always considered incredibly cheesy.

“Just so you know, you’re my best friend, and I love you. But you’re going down, Argent,” Lydia said as she and the other girls gathered around.

Allison rolled her eyes but smiled sweetly, “How much did you pay Laura to make sure you get it?”

“Are you guys going to participate, or are you going to bicker like teenagers?” Laura asked.

Allison had a witty retort on the tip of her tongue, but instead she caught Derek’s eye where he was standing talking to Jackson and Stiles. He gave her a smile, and she gave him a thumbs up. Maybe after the wedding, she’d tell him that she loved him. It seemed like as good a time as any.

Laura turned around and threw the bouquet over her shoulder, and the girls playfully started shoving each other to get into the right position to get it. Allison was pretty sure that Lydia stepped on Cora’s foot.

But it was Allison who caught it. Derek saw her standing there with the bouquet in her hands, and they both smiled.

  
  



End file.
